


What Did I Do Wrong?

by Salt_the_Catgirl



Category: The Road to El Dorado (2000)
Genre: Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Multi, false gods
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-17
Updated: 2016-11-04
Packaged: 2018-08-22 23:45:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 21,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8305777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Salt_the_Catgirl/pseuds/Salt_the_Catgirl
Summary: Miguel finds El Dorado captivating, but Tulio is worried the blonde will slip up and reveal they're not the gods the peoplebelieve them to be.  Tulio and Miguel have agreed that Chel is off limits, but when one man breaks the rules and gives in to temptation,so does the other.  Now, their friendship is on the rocks, and neither understands why.





	1. She's Off Limits (Miguel's POV)

**Author's Note:**

> Split into chapters to give alternating POVs from Miguel and Tulio. This is a style I need to work on more often, and the  
> last time I did so, I really tugged at my own heart strings. I'd like to see if I can acomplish that a second time with this story as  
> well.

I've all but given up hope. Tulio has nearly convinced me that the map is been a fake as he pulls me onto Altivo's back. "No! Not with the face, stop!" he sighs. We're suddenly all taken by surprise when a beautiful young native girl runs into us. She bumps into Altivo and falls flat on the ground. The horse spooks as a group of natives surround us. The girl tosses something to Tulio and he and she pass it back and forth between themselves for a moment.

"Uh, hello. Is this your rock?" TUlio asks, when he looks up seeing the angry mob of natives, "Sorry. We're just looking we're tourist. You know, tourists?"

"We've lost our group, may we go now?" I add.

"Heh, spears..." Tulio chuckles nervously as the natives point their weapons at us. My arms around his waist, I can feel him trembeling a little. He likes to feel like he's in control of things, and right now, we're surrounded by a semi-circle of angry natives with spears on our one side, and a rather LARGE rock with the carving of two men on a serpant of some sort on our other. The girl in front of us, there's truly no way to go.

The natives are rather insistant that we accompany them, and it's hard to argue when there's a spear in your face. They take the girl as well, and she seems rather protective of whatever it is she's carying with her. We're lead to a boat and all take our places in an awkward silence. No one speaks and this boat ride feels like it's taking forever. Tulio and I nudge each other and exchange a quiet glance, however, as the cloth around whatever it is the girl is carrying slips down, revealing a glimmer of gold. "Can it be?" I think. Judging by the look on Tulio's face, he thinks so, too. She realizes the cloth has slipped and quickly covers the object up, hugging it closer.

Suddenly, the cave we're traveling through gives way to sunlight and there's something tall and glinting behind us. Tulio and I gasp, once again exchanging looks. We quickly whirl around, mouths agape and eyes wide open. "Oh my..." I gasp.

"It's El Dorado!" we say in unison.

The natives push us back onto the horse, myself in front this time, and they pull the girl from the boat and herd us into the city. We're done for. I just know it. I can sense my partner's unease behind me. He's thinking the same thing. Well, if we're going to die, I may as well come clean about a few things, right?

"Well, it was nice working with you, partner," Tulio says.

"Tulio, I just want you to know... I'm sorry about that girl in Barcelona."

"So... You... You...f...!" Tulio's fuming, I can hear it in his voice, and I can feel his eyes trying to burn a hole in the back of my head. I truly am sorry it happened, but I never told him for fear he'd kill me. He'd fallen hard for the girl, but she left him for another man. She'd left him for me. When I realized what happened, I'd called it off with her. I couldn't in good concience stay with her knowing it had broken my best friend's heart. It took days to console him and I had trouble keeping him out of the tavern bar. When Tulio drinks for fun, he's great to be around, he's actually quite the happy drunk. But when he hits the bottle in attempt to forget his troubles, he's a nightmare to be around. He's no longer in control and can become rather violent, throwing obscenities, among other things. It was not fun trying to sober him after that incident. Before he can finish his thought, we're interrupted.

"BEHOLD!" a voice exclaims, "As the prophesies fortold, the time of judgment is now!" We both look up to see a tall, skiny native with a large nose standing with his hands in the air. The other natives are all looking at him. "Citizens, did I not predict that the gods would come to us?" Tulio and I look around, then at each other in confusion. I'm not sure what's going on, but this guy just saved me from Tulio's wrath. "My lords," the tall man greets us, "I am Tzekel-Kan," he bows, "Your devoted high priest and speaker for the gods."

Another man, much larger, with shoulder length hair approaches. "I am Chief Tannabok. What names may we call you?"

"Huh?" I blink in a moment of confusion, but quickly introduce myself, "I am Miguel."

"And I am Tulio," Tulio adds, "And they call us Miguel and Tulio!" We both try to strike a pose of confidence and I give a gentle tug on Altivo's reigns to signal for him to do the same.

"Your arrival has been greatly anticipated," Tzekel-Kan says. It has? That's news to me.

"My lords, how long will you be staying in El Dorado?" the cheif inquires.

Before we can answer, Tzekel-Kan grabs hold of the girl's wrist and drags her forward. "I see you captured this temple-robbing thief. How would you have us punish her?"

Something about the way he says this sends a cold chill down my spine. Tulio and I dismount the horse. "Oh!" the girl laughs. "No, no, no, no, no!" she says quickly. "My lord, I am not a thief. See, the gods..." she points at us over her shoulder with a thumb, "Sent me a vision... To-to bring them tribute from the temple to guide them here." She bows as low as she possibly can while the priest is still holding her wrist. "My only wish is to serve the gods." She glances at us, with a pleading look of 'Help me out here, will ya'?'

Tulio is staring at her a little too long, before he finally looks up at the priest. "Release her!" he says almost comanding, "Don't you think?" he adds, a little less confidently. There are gasps and murmors from the crowd.

Tzekel-Kan releases her and hands her the item she'd been holding earlier in the boat. "Then you will begin by returning this to its rightful place," he orders. The girl looks disapointed, but she quietly leaves with the item in tow.

"My lords, why do you choose now to visit us?" Chief Tannabok asks.

"ENOUGH!" Tzekel-Kan growls. "You do not question... the gods!"

I don't stop to think. If people start asking questions, they may figure out they're wrong about us and who knows what'll happen, then. I step forward, "That's right! Do not question us, or we shall have to unleash our awesome and terrible power! And you don't want that!"

"Well, yes!" Tzekel-Kan laughs, "We do!"

Wait...? What? "You... do?" Ok, this guy's kinda creepy.

"Of course we do!" Tzekel-Kan says, still laughing, "Visit your wrath upon this nonbeliever! Show us the truth of your divinity!"

Ok, I take that back, he's REALLY creepy! I didn't expect him to call my bluff, especially where his own chief was concerned. "Divinity!" Tulio says, looping arms with me. "One moment." He jerks me hard. "Miguel, you know that little voice people have?" he whispers harshley, "The one that tells them to quit when they're ahead? You don't have one!" he growls accusingly. Well of course not, Tulio, that's why I have you.

"Well, I'm sorry. I got carried away," I admit, apologetically.

"WAAAY away!" Tulio scolds. He still doesn't feel he has control on the situation, and he's clearly annoyed by it.

"Maybe we should tell the truth and beg for mercey?" I offer.

"Are you nuts?" he hisses, "We'll be butchereed alive!"

"Yes, but, they're getting supsicious. I didn't think they'd actually call me on it. But if we don't come up with some mega-cosmic event..." I start. There's a rumble in the background and the ground starts to shake. There's a volcano in the distance, which is starting to smoke. Great, is it planning to errupt? An armadillo that's been following us for some time now, after I'd inadvertently saved it from a snake when cutting a tree limb while traversing the jungle, is skittering around between our feet, chasing a butterfly.

"I'm trying," Tulio sighs in frustration, "I'm trying! I can't think with all these distractions." He turns to Altivo. "You, Horse! Think horse, think!"

Now I know he's lost it. I reach out and hit him in the forehead. "Think, think," I whisper. Blunt force seemed to help him think while we were in the brig on Cortes's ship. I can tell the natives are confused as Hell about what we're doing now. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see them looking back and forth between us and the volcano.

"I'm on the verge of," Tulio grumbles. "STOP!" he shouts, his voice echoing.

I don't know what powers that be decided to shine upon us two lowly conmen at this exact moment, but something happened. Tulio's voice is quite comanding. Somehow, everything goes quiet in the wake of his echo. The volcano stops. The horse and armadillo both fall quiet. You could hear a pin drop. Turning around, we find the crowd has fallen dead silent, seeming to hold their breath, nearly all of them are on their knees. Tulio and I exchange looks. Amigo, someone up there loves us!

I turn and look at a guard who's still standing and point at him. "Don't make me start it up again, 'cause I will," I warn. The guard quickly drops to his knees.

"Oh might lords!" Tzekel-Kan greets us, "Come. Let me show you to your temple."

That worked? That actually worked?

"All right! Temple," Tulio says excitedly.

Tzekel-Kan turns to find Chief Tannabok standing between him and the temple. "Step aside," the high priest hisses. The chief lowers his head and reluctantly steps aside. However, he joins us on the walk to the temple.

Oh dear God! Why does this temple have so many stairs? Tulio, Altivo, and I are all gasping for air and wabbly in the knees when we reach the top. But the two native leaders aren't winded at all. Tulio and I quickly strike a convincing pose of confidence when Tzekel-Kan and Chief Tonnabok turn back to us. "My lords," the Chief invites us.

"To commemorate your arrival, I propose a reverent ceremony at dawn," the priest suggests.

"Ah, then perhaps I could prepare a glorious feast for you tonight?" the cheif offers.

Are they competeing here? "Which would you prefer?" the priest asks.

Tulio and I look at each other with a brief moment of uncertainty. "Both?" he asks.

"Both." I say.

"Both," we both say looking back at them.

"Both is good," I state.

"My lords," the chief and priest say in unison, taking their leave.

Tulio and I stop to look around the temple. It's amazing in its grandier. It's unlike anything we've ever seen. "Hey..." Tulio says, turning to me and giving me a playful shove.

"Hey," I return with a chuckle, playfully hitting his shoulder.

"Tulio... Tulio, they actually think we're gods!" I laugh.

"It's an entire city of suckers!" Tulio chuckles, "We just have to keep this up long enough to load up on the gold and then get the hell out of here!"

"Tulio, we'll be living like kings!" I exclaim.

"Miguel and Tulio!" he strikes a pose.

"Tulio and Miguel!" I say, striking pose myself.

"Mighty and powerful gods!" we laugh in unison, flexing our muscles.

"Hello," a tiny voice comes from behind us.

We jump and turn around to find the girl from earlier. "Depart mortal, before we strike you with a lightning bolt!" Tulio warns, trying to scare her away. I click my tongue and curl my fingers at her, trying to make a point. She hums and plays with the golden head statue that she'd come to return. She seems uninterested.

"Beware the wrath of the gods! Begone!" I attempt.

"Save it for the high priest, honey. You're gonna' need it," she says.

I click my tongue and wiggle my fingers at her again. "Miguel, it's not working," Tulio says, leaning toward me. I try one more time. "Miguel! We've been caught."

"Oh no," the girl laughs, "Don't worry about me, boys. 'My only wish is to serve the gods.' Remember?"

"How?" Tulio asks.

"Well," She stops playing with the golden idol and puts it back in place, then turns back to us. Man, check out those curves. That tan skin, that long silky black hair, those dark eyes. This girl's quite the exotic piece of work. "If you guys want the gold, then you don't want to get caught, right? Then you're going to need my help."

"What makes you think we need your help?" I ask.

She mimmics my earlier jesture. "Are you serious?" Altivo shakes his head and whickers, almost as if he's lauging at me. Tulio and I exchange looks. "I-What-we..." I look back at her. "Ok. So, uh, who are you?"

"Yeah, what's your angle?" Tulio asks, pointing at her. I can't help noticing he's checking her out just as much as I was, maybe even more so.

"No angle," she says calmly, "I want in."

"In?" we ask.

"On the scam," she says pointing at us.

"There's no scam! Why would you think there's a...? Why?" Tulio asks.

"So I can get out," she says, thumbing over her shoulder again.

"I thought she just said she wanted in?" I ask in confusion.

"She wants in, so she can get out," Tulio explains.

"Ah, got it!" I say. Wait? I turn and look back at her. "Wh-why?"

"Think you're the only ones who dream of better things? Of adventure? You've got your reasons, I've got mine. Let's not make it personal, okay?" she says, "Just business." Yeah. Probably for the better. We don't need a repeat of the girl from Barcelona. She wraps her soft, slender arms around our shoulders and all but smooshes our faces into her boosm. "Sooo... When you guys are ready to go back to... WHEREVER you came from, I'm going with you."

"No, I don't think so!" Tulio says, pulling away, with a nervous chuckle.

"All right. Fine," she says, pushing us both aside and starting to walk away. "After all, I'm sure you know the proper rituals for blessing a tribute, the holiest days on the calendar..." She turns and leans into Tulio, pressing a finger to his chest, before reaching up and pinching his cheek, "Oh, and of course you know all about Xibalba?" She smiles and turns to walk away again. "Okay? Good luck." She waves. "See you at the execution."

"Wait! Ho... Would you... Hold it?" Tulio exasperates, running after her.

She smiles and turns around. "Deal?" she asks, holding out her hand.

"Deal!" I say, reaching out to shake with her.

"Not yet!" Tulio growls, pushing me back. "Let's just see how this works out." Tulio, you're always so damned cautious. Learn to live a little, would ya'? If we don't take her in, she could still give us away, after all.

"Uh-huh," she says, still smiling, "Well, then I suppose that means you'll want these back?" She holds up a pair of red dice. They're the loaded dice Tulio was using back in Spain, the day we won the map.

"How'd you get those?" Tulio asks, patting himself down before snatching them back from her.

I look her over again. "Where was she keeping them?" I ask.

She smiles even bigger. "Call me Chel, your new partner!" she announces happily, running past us to grab some clothes from the corner of the room.

"Uh, that's partner in training!" Tulio starts. I roll my eyes. I love the man, but he really does need to learn to lighten up.

Suddenly, we're both buried under a swoth of cloth. "Now, put these on!" Chell says, in an almost sing-song voice, "Your public's waiting."

We start to get changed, but suddenly hear a giggle. Glancing back, we see that she's sat down by the door, watching us. "Do you mind?" Tulio asks.

"No," she says, shaking her head. "Oh, oh, oh!" she says in realization, "Right. Uh, excuse me." She backs her way out of the room. Before we can return to getting dressed, she peaks back in with a quick, cute little, "Bye!" before disappearing again.

Tulio pauses and glances back at the entrance. There's a slight smile on his face, and I recognize that look in his eye. Maybe this is my chance to make up for the whole Barcelona thing? I tuck my hands behind my back, already half dressed and give him a gentle nudge with my shoulder. "Mm-mm-mmm! Maybe they should call this place 'Chel Dorado'?"

Tulio's hold on the pants in his hands tightens and he gives a slight chuckle. "She's whoo... WOAH! No!" he shouts, turning to face me, his pants now flying across the room. "Whoa! She's trouble! Waita a minute!"

"What?" I ask. I honestly thought he liked her. Hell, if he doesn't want her...

"The little voice," Tulio says, "Remember the little voice?" He sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose for a second. "Ju-Ju-Just for a second, imagine that you have one, ok?" he says. "What would it be saying about Chel?" I glance back the way she left, then let out a growling purr. "No! No. Listen." Tulio chides me out of my debaucherous thoughts. "We are partners," he says, motioning his hands back and forth between us. "We have a plan, remember?"

"Get the gold. Go back to Spain," I say, almost like a child reciting from his school books.

"Yes!" Tulio says, "And we are pretending to be gods," he continues. "Now, put Chel in the mix. What is the voice saying? Now listen carefully..."

"Chel... is off-limits, hmm?" I ask.

"Bravo! Chel is off-limits!" Tulio says, "Shake on it."

We shake in agreement and finish changing. "Off-limits," I agree. "Besides, we're supposed to be gods. We must avoid giving in to temptation."

"Gods. Oh. This is gonna' be toughter than I thought," Tulio sighs nervously.

"Tulio, relax!" I say. "All you have to do is smile, act godly, and follow my lead," I say pinching him under the chin. Just stand there, look pretty.


	2. Tulio - Off-Limits

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Borrowing the idea of Tulio having had abusive parents from another fic I read, since we're never really given a cannon background as to how our beloved conmen-with-hearts-of-gold actually met one antoher. So as not to get too repetative, I'm paraphrasing and/or glossing over a few things that's already been covered in depth on Miguel's side of things.

I knew it was too good to be true! I glance from the map to the giant rock in front of me. Etched into the stone is the image of two men on some sort of feathered looking serpent. This is the last marker on the map, but I don't see any city of gold. I TOLD Miguel this thing was a fake! As I look back at my sleeping partner, I'm full of mixed emotions. For one, I'm incredibly irritated. We won this map, back in Spain, fair and square-I might add, during an otherwise rigged game of dice. I'd swindled some poor sailors out of their money with loaded dice. Just as I'd won their last pesetas and was getting ready to take my leave, the bigger one produced this map. I wasn't interested, but Miguel... He threw me those puppy dog eyes that he KNOWS I have such a hard time saying 'No' to. The sailor was rather insistent that we play one last round, as well. So I gave in. But then, the sailor insisted we use HIS dice instead of mine. Now I was ready to kill Miguel for not walking away when we had the chance. Somehow, I rolled a seven. In hind sight, I regret gloating as I bent over to pick up our earnings, as my dice rolled out of my pocket, landing on seven, and giving us away.

I pointed an accusing finger at Miguel. "You gave me loaded dice?" When did that guard get there? I looked up at the guard, "He gave me loaded dice! Guard, arrest him!" Miguel and I bickered back and forth, confusing the sailors, the guards, and the on looking crowd. Each of us securing a sword from one of the guards, we fenced our way to safety. Throwing the swords back to the guards and announcing we'd come to a draw, we jumped off the other side, of the building, only to find ourselves face to face with a bull, who chased us right back to the angry mob. Between the mob and the bull, we found ourselves jumping off a pier, into a couple of water barrels on the deck below. Something must have been placed on top of the barrels, because it was hours later before we were able to pop the lids off. We found ourselves face to face with an angry group of sailors. The same ones from our game earlier. Worse, this ship was under the command of Cortes. The conquistador was not thrilled at the idea of stowaways, even accidental ones. We were flogged and thrown into the brig. Had we arrived in Cuba with his crew, he would have had us flogged again and then enslaved for life on the Sugar Plantations. Miguel convinced Cortes's horse to help us out, by way of promising the beast an apple. He then risked his life to save the dumb animal when it dove overboard for said apple, nearly killing all of us in the process. I guess we DID sorta' owe it to the horse to save him, though. When we made land, Miguel recognized some of the markings from the map and showed them to me. I was irritated that he'd somehow managed to keep the stupid map, but hadn't managed to grab more food. But, come to think of it. We'd been submersed in water for several hours when the ship left port, then our long boat was overturned as we rescued the horse. We then got rained on and went through at least two more storms before reaching land. How in the hell had the ink on this thing not started running?

We'd shared a brief moment in the boat, just before making land. Thinking we were going to die, we lamented our biggest regrets. I'd never had enough gold, he regretted that our biggest adventure had only just begun and no one would remember us. I eased his pain by telling him he'd made my life and adventure. Which was true. He and I had grown up together. I had a troubled childhood at home, and his plucky optimism saw me through many dark times. My mother's death was no accident, and my father landed himself in jail. Around that same time, Miguel's mother was taken by influenza, and his father lost at sea. Rather than allow ourselves to be forced into some cramped orphanage, we ran from home and learned to take care of one another on our own. Miguel replied to my consolation, with his own, 'And you made mine rich,' that's probably the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me.

Now, as I look around at the last marking on the map, I have to tell him it was all for nothing. We risked our lives for this map, we took a beating for it, and it's all fake. I sigh as I look back to Miguel. This is going to break his heart. "Miguel... Miguel, wake up," I call.

"We're there?" Miguel asks, sleepily.

"Oh yeah. We found it," I say calmly.

"We found it? Oh, fantastic!" he's much more awake now, and highly excitable. I close my eyes. I feel like a louse. This is going to kill him, but I have to be firm with him. Knowing I have to break the news is making me quite ill with him and his excitement. "Where is it? How far?"

"Right here. ... Here," I say, calmly.

"Where? Behind the rock?" he asks, still looking around.

"No, no. This is it," I say.

Miguel snatches the map from me. "Give me that! This ca... What?"

Now I'm annoyed. "Apparently, 'El Dorado' is native for... 'Great... Big... ROCK!" I exclaim, echoing my last word. "Hey, but I tell you what," I jump back onto the horse, "I'm feeling generous today, so you can have my share!"

"You don't think Cortes could've gotten here before us and..." Miguel started trying to rationalize.

No. No, I don't. If it truly were here, not even Cortez could take THAT much gold that quickly. "And what?" I ask, "Taken all the really big rocks?" I shake my fist. "The scoundrel!" I'm being facetious.

"Tulio, you..." Miguel mutters. I can see the confusion and heartbreak on his face. He clenches the map tighter and holds it close, looking like a child that's being scolded. We risked our lives for this, and it's not there. Even now, he's still trying to find a way to be optimistic, and it's really ticking me off. "We have to think about this." Now he's getting flustered. "We've come all this way, and we-we-we should really, you know."

I lean forward, glaring at him. "Get... on... the horse!" I growl. He throws me the face and it near about kills me. "No, no, no, not with the face," I groan as I pull him onto the horse behind me. There's nothing I can say or do to console him at this moment, and I hate it. But, at the same time, I'm aware he needs this. He needs to learn that life is often full of disapointments, and maybe next time he won't put so much faith into myths and legends and fairytails. We're grown men, after all. "Stop!" I clear my throat. I have to admit, I was just starting to believe the map could have been real. I'm disappointed about this whole mess as well, but it won't do either of us any good for me to admit it out loud. "It looks like there's a pass over there," I say, taking Altivo's reigns in my hands. The sooner we get away from this place, the better.

Suddenly, a girl bumps into the horse. She lands on the ground. The horse spooks, and there's a lot of shouting. Suddenly, we're surrounded by a group of angry natives. Not good. I'm one of those people who likes to feel as if he's in control of every situation. It's a flaw, I know, but with my background, would you blame me? These people look as though they mean to kill. The girl picks up something and throws it at me. I catch it and throw it back to her. After a few tosses back and forth, I turn my attention the natives. "Hi." OUCH! The object bounces off my head. "Is this your rock? Sorry. We're just looking. We're tourist," I try to excuse us. I can feel Miguel's fingers tangle into the back of my shirt. As usual, it's up to me to think fast and get us out of this mess. "You know, tourist?"

"We lost our group. May we go now?" Miguel asks.

I give a nervous chuckle as the natives push their weapons in our faces. "Hehe, spears..." They lead us to a boat, which results in a long, awkwardly silent boat ride. The girl is sitting across from us, and I can't help checking her out. Maybe it's just that I find her tan skin and dark eyes and hair exotic, but I have trouble taking my eyes off her. She's beautiful. I don't know what that thing is she's carrying, but she's keeping it close, like a mother cradling her child. The cloth she has around it slips for a moment and she quickly covers it up, hugging it closer. Wait, was that? Miguel and I exchange looks. He saw it, too. That was definitely gold! After a moment of silence, and darkness, the cave our boat is floating through opens out, and there's a glint of light in the sky from behind us.

Miguel and I turn and look on in astonishment at the city that lies before us. "It's El Dorado!" we both gasp in surprise.

Just as the legends say, there's a large temple-like building made of solid gold. Heck, even the butterflies that swarm past us are gold. This place is amazing. The stories didn't do it justice. The people of the city are all stopping and staring at us. One woman even drops the vase she's carrying. The natives force us off the boat. Even though they allow us to mount the horse, they lead us, at spear point, deeper into the city.

"Well, it was nice working with you, partner," I tell Miguel, almost certain this is the end of the road for us.

"Tulio, I just want you to know..." Miguel says, "I'm sorry about that girl in Barcelona."

"So... You... YOU f...!" I start. If looks could kill, he'd be dead right now. In fact, the only thing keeping him safe from being strangled by my own hands at this moment, is the crowd of natives surrounding us. Right now, they're the much bigger threat. The girl in question was from a few years ago. I had taken several days to woo her. I thought she and I had something special, and had even thought to marry her. She broke my heart, however. Just when I resolved to find a ring and purpose, she called it off, said she'd found someone else. It had been a long time since I'd been so devastated. Miguel found me later, in a tavern. Needless to say, I was sloshed from trying to drink away my sorrows. I wasn't exactly the best person to be around. Miguel drug me away from a half finished bottle and locked me into a hotel room. Just as I hate not having control, I can't stand being locked up. Being stupid-drunk, broken hearted, and locked in a room, I'd become violent. I hurled obscenities at him, and even threw a few random objects his way. It's a result of my father's temper, something I'm always trying not to cave into. Miguel caught the full brunt of it, locked in that room with me for a week, until I finally sobered up. ... I had nearly drank the tavern dry on my own. It's a wonder he didn't find me dead. I was awful to him, yet he stayed by my side the whole time, and I didn't even know he was the cause of my worries. I had one hell of a hangover when all was said and done. This left me locked in the room for yet a few more days, as even candle light was enough to set my head to throbbing. Miguel, really? YOU were the one she left me for? How could you? How could you even look me in they eye? I start to raise my hands, slowly, contemplating choking him.

"Behold!" a voice snaps me back to the present situation. Miguel lives...for now. A tall, slender native stands before us. He has a red streak of paint... Or at least what I HOPE is paint across his face, a large nose, and his hair is shoulder-length and tied back. He looks like he's someone rather important. "Citizens, did I not predict that the gods would come to us?" Miguel and I look at each other, then glance around at the gathering crowd. Wait? Do you mean...? "My lords," he continues, "I am Tzekel-Kan, your devoted high priest."

A larger, even more important looking man steps up next to him. "I am Chief Tannabok. What names may we call you?"

"I am Miguel," Miguel says.

"And I am Tulio," I reply.

"Your arrival has been greatly anticipated," Tzekel-Kan says. It has? The Cheif tries to ask us another quetion, but the high priest blows him off, by pulling the girl from earlier out of the crowd. Again, I can't help eyeing her. Why do I find her so fascinating? "Ah, I see you captured this temple-robbing theif. How would you have her punished?"

"Oh, no! You misunderstand, my lord. I'm no thief," the girl says, "The gods sent me a vision to bring them tribute to help guide them. My only wish is to serve the gods." She tries to bow, and glances over at Miguel and me, as if pleading for us to help her.

"Release her, don't you think?" I say, trying to force my eyes from her, onto the priest.

He lets her go and orders her to return the golden idol to its rightful place in the temple. Once more, the Cheif tries to question us, but the priest starts yelling at him. "You do not question the gods!"

"That's right, don't question us," Miguel says. Wait, what? Miguel, what the hell are you doing? "Or we shall have to unleash our awesome and terrible power! And you don't want that!" Shut the hell up, you idiot! At this point, I don't know if I'm better off to strangle him where we stand, or rip out my hair.

"Why, yes, we do!" the priest laughs.

"You do?" Miguel is clearly taken aback.

"Of course we do! Visit your wrath on this nonbeliever and show us your divinity!" the priests encourages.

"Divinity!" I say, grabbing hold of my partner's arm. NOW you've done it, dummy! "One moment!" I pull Miguel to the side and can't help scowling at him. "Miguel, you know that little voice people have that tells them when to quit while they're ahead? YOU DON'T HAVE ONE!"

"Well, I'm sorry. I got carried away," Miguel apologizes. Really, you don't say?

"Waay away!" I scold him.

"Maybe we should tell the truth and beg for mercy?" he suggests.

"Are you nuts? We'll be butchered alive!" I rebuff.

"But they're getting suspicious. If we don't come up with some mega-cosmic event..." he starts in.

Damn it. Once again, it all falls on me to wrangle things up, and get the situation under control. I have to think of something, and I have to think FAST! "I'm trying... I'm trying, but there's just too many distractions." The ground shakes as a volcano in the distance seems to be ready to erupt. There's an armadillo that's been following us for quite some time now, running circles around my feet, trying to catch a golden butterfly. Miguel's being his usual, lovable, idiotic self, and there's the pressure of an entire city of natives waiting for us to prove we're a couple of deities. Miguel slaps my forehead a couple of times. I suppose he thought that would help, as I'd started banging my head on a post in the brig trying to figure out how to escape Cortes. "STOP!" I finally shout. My voice echoes again, and everything goes dead silent. The natives are on their knees. The armadillo and butterfly are no longer frolicking. The volcano is still and silent. What the hell just happened? Miguel turns to one of the guards, who's still standing, and says something to him. I'm not certain what Miguel said, but, the guard bows.

"My lords, let me show you to your temple," the priest invites us.

"All right. Temple," I muse out loud.

The priest and the chief lead us up the tall golden building. It's amazing how we'd traversed the entire jungle so easily, yet now Miguel, Altivo, and I are all totally winded by a flight of stairs, that even the chief, big as he is, seems to have no trouble climbing. Miguel and I are quick to strike a confident pose when the two natives turn back to us. The priests offers to preform a ceremony in honor of our arrival at dawn, while the chief suggest a feast for us tonight. I've got to admit, FOOD sounds good right about now.

"Which would you prefer?" the priest asks.

"Both?" I say, looking to Miguel.

"Both," Miguel agrees.

"Both!" we say in unison.

The two natives bow and take their leave. "Tulio, they actually think we're gods!" Miguel laughs, once we're alone.

"It's an entire city of suckers," I laugh, "We just have to keep this up long enough to load up on the gold and get the hell out of here!"

"Hello," a voice interrupts us. It's the girl from before. Miguel wiggles his fingers at her and clicks his tongue, trying to scare her. I threaten her with lightning bolts, but she's not buying it. "Save it for the priest, Honey, you're going to need it."

Miguel continues trying to scare her. "Miguel. It's not working. Miguel, we've been caught," I say.

"No, don't worry about me," the girl says, "'My only wish is to serve the gods' Remember?"

"How?" I ask.

"Well, you want the gold, so you don't want to get caught," she says, "Then you're going to need my help."

"What makes you think we need your help?" Miguel asks.

She mimics the finger wiggling and tongue clicking he'd been doing. "Seriously?" I try not to laugh, but the horse has no trouble vocalizing at this.

"So, who are you?" Miguel asks, seemingly somewhat flabbergasted.

"Yeah, what's your angle?" I inquire, cautiously.

"I want in," she says.

"In?"

"On the scam," she says calmly.

I laugh. "There's no scam! Why would you think there's a... Why?"

"So I can get out," she replies.

"I thought she said she wants in?" Miguel is clearly confused now.

"She wants in, so she can get out," I explain.

"Ah, right... W-why?" he shrugs his shoulders at her, sounding even more confused now.

"You've got your reasons, I've got mine," she replies, "Let's not make it personal. Just business." Yeah, good idea. Letting it get personal could ruin everything. My eyes start wandering her up and down again. She really is beautiful. Wow, and really soft. She wraps her arms around our shoulders and is holding us just inches from her breasts. This close, I can tell she smells rather nice, too. "So, when you boys go back to WHEREVER you came from, I'm coming with you."

"No, I don't think so!" I say, exercising every inch of willpower I have in order to pull away from her.

"Alright, fine," she says, starting to walk away. "After all, I'm sure," she begins listing a number of things that we'll need to know in order to pass ourselves off as gods. Things that we really will need an insider's guide to. She pinches my cheek. "And I'm sure you know all about Xibalba. Okay? Good luck." She turns to walk away again, "See you at the execution."

"Whoa, hold on!" I exclaim, running after her.

"Deal?" she asks.

"Deal," Miguel says, reaching out to shake hands with her.

I push him away. Why is he always so eager to jump the gun? WHY does the idea of caution allude him so easily? "Not yet. Let's see how this works out, first."

"Then I guess you'll want these back?" the girl asks, holding out my loaded dice.

"How did you get those?" I ask, snatching them out of her hands.

"Where was she keeping them?" I hear Miguel ask, from behind me.

"Call me Chel, your new partner," she says with a smile. Great, she's THAT kind of woman. She's beautiful and she knows it, and as a direct result, she knows how to use that to her advantage to get what she wants. Oh, she's going to be all kinds of trouble.

"That's partner in training," I start to rebuff.

"Put these on, your public's waiting," she insists, tossing some clothes our way.

We start to get dressed, but I hear a tiny giggle from behind us. Looking back, I find she hasn't even left the room. "Do you mind?" I ask.

"No," she shrugs, before realizing I'm asking her to leave. I may be a conman, but I do have SOME modicum of modesty. She leaves, but not before giving one last peak and a rather flirty sounding, "Bye."

Miguel nudges me. "Maybe this place should be called Chel Dorado?"

Woah! No, back up partner! "She's trouble! Wait a minute!" I insist.

"What?" Miguel asks.

"Remember the little voice?" I ask. I can see the look of 'Awe, c'mon!?' in his eyes, already. "Just for a second, imagine you have one. What would it be saying about Chel?" Miguel looks the way she left and makes a sexually playful growling-purring noise. "No, no! Listen," I sigh. Not that I blame him. She's gorgeous. I'm thinking the same thing, but MY little voice DOES exist. "We are partners. We have a plan, remember?"

"Get the gold, go back to Spain," Miguel says, as though he were in school, quoting his daily lessons.

"Yes, and we're pretending to be gods. Now, put Chel in the mix. What does the voice say?" I ask.

He mulls it over for a second, and I'm beginning to think I'm going to have to spell it out for him. But then he hesitantly states, "Chel is off-limits?"

"Chel is off-limits!" I parrot, happily. Thank God that was easier to get across than I'd expected it to be. I've seen women like her before. She's beautiful, yes, but again, she uses that to her advantage. She could easily play us both for fools if we trust her too easily. She could sell us out, or play us against one another, or wait until we're all out of the city then run with as much of the gold as she can carry on her own in the middle of the night. Hell, it could end up like Barcelona all over again. Even so, they think we're gods. Gods don't play around with mortals! "Shake on it?" We shake in agreement. The girl is a partner, an ends to a means, and that's it. Like she said, it's not personal just business.

Miguel reaffirms my current train of thought with his own words of, "Besides, we're supposed to be gods. We must avoid giving in to temptation."

"Gods..." I groan, "This is going to be tougher than I thought."

"Tulio, relax!" Miguel says. While Miguel is usually the ONLY person who can get me to relax, it usually doesn't happen when he actually tells me to. He playfully pinches my chin. "All you have to do is smile, act godly, and follow my lead." Excuse me? Follow YOUR lead? Your lead's what's got us in this mess in the first place!


	3. (Miguel) Not In Good Conscience

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While I love the song "It's Tough To Be A God" you will not find it in this story. This is because 1. I don't want to transcript the ENTIRE movie into this story, 2. It looses it's appeal when simply read, and 3. Again, attributing to reason 2, there's a lot of stuff that happens in the foreground and background that gets in the way of the song itself when being written, so I'm settling for a simple, quick gloss-over.

We thoroughly enjoy ourselves at the feast. Tulio's in a good mood, so it's safe to let him partake in the local beverages of Pulque and Xocoatl. There's no risk of him becoming an angry, violent drunk. The natives are all smiles, the food and drink are delicious, the music is catchy enough to dance to. Even Chel is out dancing. Oh dear... Altivo got intos the drink too. I never realized how humorous it was to watch a drunken horse stagger about. As the evening wanes on, Tulio becomes much more relaxed and confident. I think he's starting to feel more confident about this whole thing. That's good. Because as he pointed out himself, if they begin to suspect we're not who they think we are, we're as good as dead.

We loose track of time, and eventually fall asleep, drunk, full, and happy! "Good morning, my lords!" we're jerked awake by Tzekel-Kan's voice. We both jump as we open our eyes and see the high priest standing over us.

"He's back," I groan.

"Oh no," Tulio grumbles.

Getting up, we realize we're standing on a large cliff, just above a whirlpool. There's a crowd of natives standing below. What...? When did...? HOW did we get up here? Chel is throwing flower petals about and looks nervous. "Chel, what's going on?" Tulio asks.

She shakes her head, "It's not gonna' be good," she whispered.

Tulio opens his mouth, pauses, letting her reply sink in, then gives her a confused, "Thank you."

"This city has been granted a great blessing," Tzekel-Kan says. Tulio and I both give a silent cringe as the priest's voice and the music aggitate our hangovers. "And what have we done to show our gratitude? A meager celebration. The gods deserve a proper tribute!" This draws our attention. "The beginning of a new era, the dawning of a new age... demands... sacrifice!" A bag opens, revealing a native male with his hands tied together. The man's staggering and teetering on the edge of the cliff as though he's drunk, or drugged. The priest is using a lot of smoke and mirrors on this. There's genuine concern on the faces of the people.

"I don't like this," Tulio whispers.

"Oh, Tulio, we've got to do something," I say, clapping a hand on his shoulder. Tzekel-Kan stands behind the native, pushing him closer to the edge, raising a blade.

"Stop!" Tulio and I both shout. Everyone turns to look at us in confusion as we approach the priest and his 'sacrifice'.

Tulio wags his finger in Tzekel-Kan's face as I catch the native from behind and pull him back to safety. "This is not a proper tribute!" Tulio says, his voice full of great authority.

"You do not want the tribute?" Tzekel-Kan asks in stunned confusion.

"No. No, no," I break in, still dragging the poor man away from the cliff. I can see it in this man's eyes, he's definately been drugged. "Uh, it's just that... Uh... T-Tulio, tell him."

Tulio throws me a look of, 'Gee thanks!' as he has to stop and think. Standing up straight and confident, he points to the sky. "Th-The stars are not in position for this tribute!"

I'm now dragging the 'sacrifice' past Tulio and the priest. "Like he says, stars..." I shake my head. "Can't do it." I look up pointedly at the priest, "Not today."

"Ah..." Tzekel-Kan falls silent, his eyes shifting back and forth for a moment. He places his hands together and takes a humble bow, stepping aside. "Perhaps it is possible I misread...the heavens."

Oh thank God that worked! "Don't worry about it," I say, patting the priest on the back, "To err is human, to forgive..."

"My lords, may the people of El Dorado offer you our tribute?" Cheif Tonnabok asks. We turn to find several beautiful native women standing in a line, holding large golden platters full of golden trinkets. Bowls, plates, statues, jewelery, and coins. Now THIS is what I'm talking about! "My lords, does this please you?"

"Yes, very nice. Certainly acceptable. Yes, lovely, it'll do," Tulio and I agree.

"The gods have chosen!" Chief Tonnabok announces. "To Xibabla?" he asks.

I have no clue what that means, but sure, what the heck. "To Xibablba!" Tulio and I both say triumphantly. We watch in disbelief as the gold goes sailing over our heads. Wh...What? "Oh, great..." I murmmer. To think these people have enough of this stuff that they can just throw it off a cliff, into a whirlpool without a second thought! Where does that thing even lead to, I wonder.

"Chel, what are they doing?" I ask.

"They're sending it to Xibabla!" Chel scolds us, "the spirit world."

"The...spirit world..." Tulio slumps next to me.

"I'll take care of it," Chel sighs, turning and heading toward the chief.

"Stop!" the chief shouts. A golden platter clanks to the ground and rolls toward us. Tulio somehow manages to catch it with his foot before it rolls off the cliff. "They wish to bask!" the chief announces, "Take the tribute to the gods' temple!"

Chel gives a little giggle as she takes her place in line next to me. She's looking quite proud of herself. Tulio leans past me. "Nicely done," he says. I wish we hadn't agreed the girl was off-limits. Right now I think we could both kiss her. Judging by Tulio's voice, however, he's interested in more than just kissing, though.

"Tons of gold for you, hah"  
"And tons of gold for me, hoo"  
"Tons of gold for we, ah!" Tulio and I are singing as the natives carry us and the gold back to the temple. Tulio's in a really good mood; I honestly can't recall the last time I saw him this happy.

"Not bad for a day's work, eh?" I ask.

"Not bad at all," Tulio says, laying back to relax, "Amigo, we just became richer than the king of Spain."

"Speaking of kings. The chief and high priest seem a bit... uh... tense," I note.

"Buenos Dias!" Tulio says, "Listen, all we have to do... is keep playing one against the other. You know, do a little god dance, chant some mystic mumbo jumo, dazzle 'em with some smoke and mirrors and then get the hell back to Spain."

"Um, Tulio, how are we gonna' get all this back to Spain?" I ask.

"Uh..." He hesitates. "Give... Give me a moment. I'll, I'll think of something," he promises.

I smile and lean back, propping my head on my arms. "You always do," I chuckle. "By the way, 'The stars are not in position for this tribute?' I don't know where that came from, but it was damned brilliant."

Tulio chuckles and waves a hand in the air. "Thank you, thank you," he said, trying to be modest, "I'm honestly surpised it worked."

"As am I," I said."But I'm glad it did. I couldn't have lived with myself if..."

Tulio held up a hand. "Hey, hey! I know, old friend, I know," he said, "But don't dwell on it. Nothing happened. Let's not ruin the moment with thoughts of 'what if', ok?"

"I suppose you're right," I nod. If we were caught pulling a stunt like this in Spain, we'd be lead to the gallows for hericy and blasphemy. I can live with them thinking we're gods-if it means not being sacrificed to their gods, and I find it hard to feel guilty about taking so much gold from people who clearly have plenty to spare. But, I can not in good concience, allow someone to be killed on my behalf. Tulio's right, we won't ruin the moment with 'What if's, but we need to make certain Tzekel-Kan doesn't try to sacrifice someone in OUR names again.

"Speaking of brilliant ideas, I'm starting to feel better about letting Chel in on this. If not for her, we probably wouldn't have been THIS successful," Tulio adds.

I smirk, seeing the look in my partner's eyes as he praises our accomplice. "She's off-limits, remember," I teasingly remind him, "We shook on it."

"Of course we did, of course she is!" Tulio says, sounding a liittle defensive, but otherwise trying to blow me off.

We arrive at the temple and the gold is being un loaded into the room. Chel approaches us with a large smile on her face, and a pitchure of Xocatal in one hand, and three golden goblets in the other. "My lords, shall we hold a toast in honor of your bountiful tribute?" she giggles.

"That sounds like a marvelous idea," I say, reaching for one of the golden goblets.

"No, no," Tulio declines, rubbing his temple, "None for me, thanks."

"Oh, c'mon, Tulio," I say, realizing that now that the rush of things is over, his hangover headache must be setting back in, "Just a little hair of the dog that bit you, hmm? Just a celebratory sip. I'll make sure you don't go overboard with it."

Tulio looks at me for a moment, shakes his head, then sighs and smiles, "Alright, just a small sip." He wraps an arm around my shoulders, "Then you and I are going to speak with Chief Tonnabak."

"We are?" I ask.

"Why?" Chel asks as she pours our drinks.

"Because there's only one way, we're getting all this back to Spain," he says in a whispered reply.


	4. Tulio - Good Conscience

Miguel and I are living it up at the festival. There's more food and drink here than we've ever had in one sitting before, and all of it is simply divine. I start the night off rather uneasy, but slowly start to relax. Miguel's jovial company and the natives' enthusiastic music and dancing has a lot to thank for that. I join Miguel in partaking in the local drinks of Pulque and Xocoatal. Apparently, I'm in a better mood than I realize, because Miguel makes no attempt to cut me off. At some point toward the end of the night, even the horse has gotten into the alchohol, as he seems to be staggering and whickering at every move. I don't recall all of the night's events. We both fall asleep happier, drunker, and with fuller bellies than we've ever had in our lives.

"Good morning, my lords!" Tzekel-Kan's voice breaks.

Miguel and I both jump and give a startled shout. "He's back," Miguel whispers, hugging his pillow tight.

"Oh, no," I groan. My head is throbbing, I'm not sure I can take dealing with the high priest today. I stumble out of the Litter, and quickly jump to my feet, trying to strike a confident pose. The music makes my headache worse, but I do my best to ignroe it. We're somehow on top of a large cliff, overlooking a whirlpool. We must have gotten more sloshed than I thought last night. Chel looks nervous as she walks past us, tossing flower petals about. "Chel, what's going on?" I ask.

"It's NOT gonna' be good," she answers in a horse whisper.

Uh... What? Um... "Thank you?"

"This city has been granted a great blessing," the priest proclaims. Miguel and I both cringe at Tzekel-Kan's voice. Apparently I'm not the only one with a hangover. "And what have we done to show our gratitude? A meager celebration. The gods deserve a proper tribute! The beginning of a new era, the dawning of a new age..." What's with that bag next to the priest? "Demands..." Why is it wiggel... Oh God! "Sacrifice!" The bag opens to reveal a native man, tied up and clearly drugged. There's a gasp of concern from the crowd below us, and from the chief himself. There's all kinds of colored smoke and the native seems to be staggaring in sync with the priests's movements.

"I don't like this," I say out loud. I feel Miguel's hand on my shoulder and hear the unease in his voice as he urges me that we have to do something.

Tzekel-Kan stands behind the intended sacrifice and pushes him closer to the edge and raises his blade. "STOP!" Miguel and I exclaim. The priest stalls his hand and turns to look at us. Miguel rushes up and catches the native man, just as he faints.

"This is not a proper tribute!" I insist, approaching the priest, acting as a parent scolding a child.

"You do not want the tribute?" the priest asks confusidly.

"No, we want tribute," Miguel says, "It's just... Um... Tulio, tell him..."

My arms fall flat at my side when I hear this. Thanks a lot, Miguel! Put me on the spot, why don't you? Ok, think, Tulio. This has gotta be good, gotta be believable... Think fast! Ahha! "The stars are not in position for this tribute!"

"Like he said," Miguel pipes in, dragging the man past us, "Stars can't do it. Not today."

Well, at least he's backing me up. I give the priest a disappointed, disaproving look and shake my head at him. "Ah," Tzekel-Kan stammers, "I supose," he bows and steps aside, "It's possible I misread the heavens." That actually worked? Damn, but that was close! I'm a conman, not a cold-blooded murder! I couldn't forgive myself if I hadn't put a stop to this, but I didn't think he'd actually buy that!

Miguel slaps the priest on the back and gives him some spiel about, 'To error is human, to forgive divine,' or something like that. But, he's cut off by the chief. "My lords, may the people of El Dorado offer you our tribute?"

Looking toward the chief, we see a multitude of native women emerge each one carrying a plater, almost as big as they are, made of pure gold, filled to the point of almost over flowing with golden trinkes of varying shapes and sizes. Oh my God, now THIS is a beautiful site to wake up to. "My lords, does this please you?" the cheif asks. Miguel and I give our words and praises of approval. "The gods have chosen!" the chief proclaims. "To Xibalba?"

Miguel and I exchange looks and nods. Don't know what it means, but what the hell? Sounds good to me. "To Xibalba!" we both say. Wait? What's? What's going on? The gold begins sailing over our heads, off the cliff, and into the whirlpool. You've gotta' be kidding me!? Do they really value it so little that they'll just toss it out like that?

I hear Miguel ask Chel what's happening, and something about "The...spirit world...?" Chel goes to speak to the chief, as Miguel and I stand by, helplessly looking on as all that glittering gold continues to sail over our heads and disappear into the swirling abyss below.

"STOP!" the chief shouts. I hear a golden platter rolling past me, and determined to save SOMETHING, I use my foot to catch it. "They wish to bask!" Miguel and I turn. Quick thinking on Chel's part. "Take the tribute to the gods' temple!"

I smile at Chel and lean past Miguel, "Nicely done," I praise her. Oh, if only we hadn't agreed that she was off-limits... No, no! Bad, Tulio! Don't think like that! Well, I guess, we can just say the portion that was thrown out was ensuring God, or the gods got his, or their proper share of the tribute?

Chel is mounted onto Altivo, as Miguel and I climb back into the Litter and are carried back to the temple. Miguel and I can't help but start singing on the way back.  
"Tons of gold for you, hah!"  
"Tons of gold for me, hoo!"  
"Tons of gold for we, ah!"  
I can't remember the last time I felt so alive, and judging by the look on my partner's face, neither can he.

"Not bad for a day's work, eh?" he asks.

"Not bad at all," I reply, "Amigo, we just became richer than the king of Spain."

"Speaking of kings, have you noticed the chief and high priest are a little tense?"

"So, we just play one against the other," I say, "Little god dance, mystic mumbo jumbo, some smoke and mirrors, then get the hell back to Spain."

"Tulio? How are we ever going to get all this gold BACK to Spain?" Miguel asks.

I hadn't thought of that. "Give me a moment. I'll think of something," I assure him.

"Don't you always?" he chortles. "By the way? 'The stars are not in position for this tribute?' Where did that come from? It was damned brilliant."

"Thank you, thank you," I try to be modest, but I tell him the truth, "I'm surprised it worked."

"Me to, but I'm glad it did. I couldn't have lived with myself if..."

I wave my hand in the air to cut him off. I knew he felt the same way I did. There was no need for him to say it. "Hey, hey! I know, old firend, I know. But don't dwell on it. Nothing happened, so let's not ruin the moment with thoughts of 'what if', ok?" Miguel nods and drops the subject. But I can tell he's thinking the same thing I am, now. Tzekel-Kan might try it again.

"Speaking of brilliant ideas, I'm starting to feel better about letting Chel in on this. If not for her, we probably wouldn't have been THIS successful," I say, changing the subject.

"She's off-limits," he says teasingly, "We shook on it, remember?"

"Of course I do, of course we did! Of course she is!" I reply. Why do I suddenly feel like my face just turned as red as Miguel's shirt?

We arrive at the temple and Chel meets us with three golden goblets and a golden pitchure of Xocatal in hand. "My lords, shall we toast your bountiful tribute?" she giggles.

"That sounds marvelous," Miguel says, taking one of the goblets from her.

"No, no," I say, "None for me thanks." The adrenaline and excitement is wearing off and my hangover's coming back.

"Oh, c'mon, Tulio," Miguel says, realizing my affliction. "Just a little hair of the dog that bit you? It's just a celebratory sip. I promise I'll make sure you don't go overboard with it."

I pause and look at him for a moment, hands on my hips. After that week in Barcelona, Miguel's always been sort of a gaurd dog for me on matters like this. If he thinks there's any danger of me drinking myself into a drunken stupor and becoming violent, and a danger to myself and others, he cuts me off before things get out of hand. As much as I hate being locked up, he's willingly put himself between me and a door, with objects flying at his head on more than one occassion, keeping me locked in a room until I was sober. But again, my mood depends on the kind of drunk I become, and he has no problem encouraging me to partake in a good time, either. I sigh. I can trust him to keep me on the straight and narrow, and I know it. "Alright, just a small sip," I agree, wrapping an arm around my partner's shoulders, "Then you and I are going to speak with Chief Tannobok."

"We are?" Miguel asks.

"Oh yeah," I nod.

"Why?" Chel asks, pouring the drinks.

"Because there's only one way we're getting all this back to Spain," I answer.


	5. Miguel - Broken Rules

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *I got the size of the ball from the following link. I'm not certain how big the ball actually is in the movie, but so as not  
>  to undershoot the size, or to missmatch weight and size, I went with the largest they had listed.  
> http://www.ancient.eu/article/604/

Tulio had held my shirt sleeve tight the whole trip to Cheif Tannabak's palace. I have always had a sense of wanderlust when traveling to a new city, or revisiting one we've been to before, only to find something new has been errected. Knowing this, he wasn't taking any chances on my wandering off into the city, now.

We arrive and Tulio asks to speak to the chief, directly. The gaurds lead us to him without question. He greets us cheerfully, with a bow. "My lords, to what honor do I owe this visit?" he asks, "Is there something you've found to your dissatisfaction?"

"No," we say in unison.

"No, no, no, not at all," Tulio assures him, "Everything's just fine. It's just, Chief Tanni... Do you mind if I call you Tanni?" The Chief shakes his head. "Good. Um... Is there somewhere we can sit and talk? We have a favor we need to ask of you."

The chief smiles and leads us to his throne room, as he took his place on his throne, Tulio and I sat on a stone bench, cushioned with pillows across from him. Tulio explains that we need a boat to return to Xibalba and take the gold with us. "A boat?" the chief asks in confusion.

"Yeah, we really hate to be ascending so soon, but, uh, some urgent business has come up," I start to explain, pointing toward the sky.

"Family matters," Tulio tosses in, "and it's just a bit..."

"Yeah, family," I stammer.

"Badda-bing, budda-boom, you just have to be there, know what I mean?" Tulio says.

"Oh..." Chief Tanni sounds surprised, "We expected you to be staying with us... for the next... thousand years."

"Well, as we say in the spirit world," Tulio says, "there's your plan and then... there's the gods' plan. And our plan calls for a boat. 'Cause we're gonna' ascend... kind of in a horizontal pattern at first." I cover my mouth and do my best to dsiguise a laugh as simply clearing my throat. "And then we're gonna' go vertical, as we get further out to sea."

"Hm..." the chief stops to think, "To build a boat large and glorious enough... would take... a week."

"A week?" Tulio asks.

"I wonder how long it would take Tzekel-Kan to do it?" I ask. Tulio flashes me an approving smile.

"But-But for the gods, three days," the chief offers, quickly.

"Well, if that's the best you can do..."

"Or, perhaps, if you were not burdened with so much tribute, you could leave sooner?" the chief suggests.

Tulio and I exchange glances. "I like it here, Miguel?" Tulio says.

"Yep, yep. Three days is just fine," I agree. We settle the arrangements with Chief Tanni, who assures us the work on the ship will begin immediately. Tulio and I will be by to check in on how the progress is going, periodically. Once everything's settled, we take our leave and head back to the temple. Again, Tulio's keeping me on a tight leash on the way back. I can sense my partner's growing unease as we walk.

"No, three days is NOT fine," Tulio says, once we're back at the temple. He absentmindedly scoops up a pair of gold earrings and starts pacing, bouncing the earrings in his hand, as if feeling their weight. "This is a real..." He stops as he walks by Chel, who is digging through the gold, looking at earrings, and tossing them aside. He looks down at the pair in his hands, smiles and leans in, presenting them to her. "These-these are the ones," he allows himself to be distracted long enough to say before finishing his first sentance with the word, "Problem."

"Oh! Thank you," Chel says, in delighted surprise, as she takes the earrings from Tulio.

"Miguel, how are we gonna' keep this up for three days?" he asks, desperately. I'm not even sure he heard Chel thank him.

"You worry too much," I tell him.

"No, I worry exactly the right amount," Tulio insists, "You can NEVER worry too much. We just have to lie low."

"But, Tulio," I argue, "This place is amazing! I mean, I wonder what's..."

"NO!" Tulio insists, "Don't even move!"

Now that's not fair. Stuck here for three days, and can't even see the sights? "Tulio..."

"You're moving!"

"A little, but... Come on..."

"Hey, hey, hey!" Tulio shouts, "I said no."

"I gotta' I..."

"Stay! Just... stand there!"

"Wha... For three days?" I ask, toppling over from the position I've frozen into.

"Yes, exactly," Tulio sighs, "for three days. Don't even breathe, all right?"

I give a defeated sigh. "All right, we'll lie low," I conceede, crossing my arms.

"No, ah, ah, ah, ah! Promise?" Tulio asks.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!" I wave him off, "All right, all right." Somebody's getting something other than booze to drink at dinner tonight, that's for sure.

Tulio's whole body visibly relaxes. "Great! Good. Okay," he sighs as Chel steps back up behind him, wearing the earrings he'd given her. "Now, if you'll excuse me..." He smiles at her, grabbing hold of one of the earrings and looking it over. She giggles and blushes. "I have to gloat over my gold."

Oh, now what was that? So much for off-limits! But I don't want another arguement, especially not in front of Chel... Especially when she would be the subject of discussion. Instead, I give a sigh and lean against a pillar, staring off at the horizon. You can see a lot of the city up here. It'd be amazing to go see it first hand. I don't like being cooped up any more than Tulio likes being locked up, and he knows it. I can't stand to sit still for long. I sigh and try not to think about it. I can hear Tulio making all kinds of noises in the background as he digs through the piles of gold.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Chel asks, slipping up next to me.

"Yeah," I nod.

"You know, you really shouldn't miss it," she coos.

"I know. But I..." I point toward Tulio's direction, "I couldn't."

She smiles. "Go ahead," she urges, with a wink, "I'll cover for you."

"You will?" I stop and think for a second she smiles, nods, and waves her hands to signal for me to go. "Oh, good, thanks!" I break the rule just enough to give her a light peck on the cheek.

She giggles and rubs her cheek. "Run along, now, while he's still distracted," she whispers.

"Right. So... What happened to Altivo?"

I glance over my shoulders to see her shrug hers as she settles in on the couch and hear her say, "I dunno' know."

I turn the corner, and make my way down the flight of stairs as quick as I can. I was right. This city is beautiful to behold. However, it's strange. There doesn't seem to be anyone out on the streets. Yesterday, the city was so lively and full of energy, today, it's dead silent. Every once in a while, however, I think I see someone moving in the shadows. I eventually come across a guard and approach him. "Excuse me, excuse me?" He turns and bows. "Hey, where is everybody?"

"They've been cleared from the streets, my lord, so the city can be cleansed, as you ordered," he explains.

"Cleansed?" I ask. I don't think he picks up on the confusion in my voice. Who gave this order? It certainly wasn't me. I'm not even sure I understand what it means.

"Yes, so the Age of the Jaguar can begin, as you ordered, my lord," the gaurd explains.

"Get back in! Where are you going?" I hear some gaurds in the back yelling at someone.

"Hey? Hey, stop that!" I say, approaching the area of commotion.

"Move," the gaurds order.

"Hey, stop that!" I say again, pulling the gaurds away from the man they're assaulting, "What are you doing? Stop that!"

"But, my lord, anyone who disobeys your orders," the guard says, "Must be bunished, as you ordered." Our comotion has brought out a small crowd of towns people, curious as to what's going on.

As I what...? I can't believe what I'm hearing. "It seems I've been giving a lot of orders, haven't I?" This didn't come from me. Surely not from Tulio, either. Especailly not from Tulio, he wouldn't have been so worried that I'd give us away if he'd ordered this.

"Tzekel-Kan has made your commands clear, my lord," the gaurd says.

Tzekel-K... I should have known. "Really?" I say irritably. High priest and 'Speaker for the gods' and he's using OUR names to run things as he sees fit, now is he? "Here's an order. Take the day off!" I dismiss the gaurds. They look confused for a brief moment, but turn and leave. I turn back to the man whom I've just rescued. He looks up at me, breathing heavy, and extremely frightened. He's wearing a pair of gold earings, with green stones in the center, like the ones Tulio gave Chel. Now that I think about it, the earings she was wearing before were just the green stones. Are the earings around here a status symbol, or something? No, no, now's not the time to think of such things. This poor man's just been rough housed by a pair of gaurds, in my name, for no reason than just walking along the street. "Are you alright?" I ask, holding out my hand to offer a helping hand up.

"Here!" he gasps, taking off his earrings and offering them up to me.

"Oh, no! It's alright," I say, "Please..." The man scrambles to his feet and runs away. "Hey, wait...? Uh..." Well, I can't blame him for wanting to get the hell out of dodge after what just happened, I suppose, and if I give chase, I'll probably on frighten him further. As he runs away, he knocks over a few things; a small drum, a couple of sticks, and some string. I smile, as an idea occurs to me. I pick up the  
items and find a place to sit as I fashion them into a guitar. I see some movement out of the corner of my eye and look up. "Oh, hey Altivo, there you are!"

The horse comes around the corner with a small group of children. Seems the man from earlier and I aren't the only ones breaking the rules today. I could be mistaken, but I believe they're Cheif Tannobok's daughters, as I'm certain I saw at least one of them during our visit to the palace. I start strumming the guitar and entertain the kids. As they begin to laugh and dance, the other townspeople start to emerge from their homes. Most of them are wearing the gold earings with green stones, some are gold with red stones. One man with a pair of green stone earrings with red stones in the center comes up and leans in to look at my make shift guitar with curiosity. I stand and hand it to him. He begins strumming at it. As the people's attention turns to him, I decide it's time to leave and try to see more of the city.

The more I see, the more I learn about these people and their way of life. I've never felt as at peace somewhere as I do here. I run out of one crowd, right into another. There's a group of people standing across from me, on the other side of a pond full of colorful fish. Oneboy waves to me and the other peopel give me friendly, happy greetings. I approach, and ask them what they do for fun around here. I'm lead to a large wooden pole with strings tied to the top. There are some men tied to the teathers, swinging about in the air by their ankles. I approach a man with gold and red earrings and ask him about it.

Before I know it, I've convinced him to tie me to the pole and let me, quite literally, take a spin. Is this what it feels like to fly? It's amazing! I'm a bit dizzy, when I come down, but I manage not to show it. I wander away from the crowds and find a place to rest until I regain my footing, then move on. I come across a couple who are throwing feed to some birds. They hand me one of the bowls of feed and I start to scatter it on the ground. It's really a shame Tulio's missing all this. Suddenly, I'm taken by surprise, as some large, colorful birds, taller than I am, sneak up behind me and begin eating right from the bowl. Startled, I flinch, until I realize what's going on and hold up the bowl for the birds to reach it easier.

Before the day's over, I even get to ride on the back of a large turtle, and set up a large set of dominos. Before long, I'm reunited with Altivo, who now, instead of the three girls, is accompanied by a small group of boys with a rubber (latex) ball. "Well, hello, there," I greet them.

"Hello," they answer, as one picks up the ball.

"What have you got there?" I ask curiously.

The boys smile at me, and hold up the ball for me to see. "Would you like to join us, Lord Miguel?" they offer, "We'd be honored to have you."

"I'd like that, very much," I nod, "What are the rules."

The boys look at each other for a moment. "My lord, the gods created The Ball Game," one said.

I smile. "We may have created the game. But that doesn't mean I know how YOU play it," I say, "Not everyone uses the same rules." I wasn't sure how true that was, but the boys laughed and nodded in agreement with me.

"I hadn't thought about that. Forgive me for questioning you," the boy said.

I smile and wave a dismissive hand. "Quite alright, quite alright," I assure him. "No harm done. Now, how do we play?"

"Well, we don't really have any hoops to kick it through out here, so we're just passing it around. The only rule as we're playing right now is that you can't use your hands, only your elbows, head, knees, hips, and feet."

"That's it?" I ask. The boys nod. "Alright. Sounds simple enough. Let's play." Even Chief Tanni eventually joins us in the game. I can go back to Spain, and officially, truthfully, say I've played ball with a king. But... I'm begining to wonder, do I even want to go back? Chief Tannie hits the ball with his hips and I chase after it, only to slide to a halt, as I nearly run into a very angry Tulio, and a frowning Chel. "Oh... Tulio..." The ball hits him on his head and bounces away.

"What...are...you...DOING!?" he growls at me through his teeth.

"Laying low," chuckle with a shrug of my shoulders.

He growls and reaches both hands out twoard my neck. "Tulio," I hear Chel quietly hiss through her own teeth.

He takes a breath and waves his hands in the air. "Look, change of plans." He pats my shoulders and then leaves his hands there as he leans in. The anger in his eyes is gone, and has been replaced with concern. "We have to grab what we can cary and get out of here now!"

"What? Why?" I ask. What happened?

"Because the high priest is nuts! He wants..." Tulio whispers.

"This is unacceptable!" Tzekel-Kan's voice rings out.

"Yeah. Yeah, like he said!" Tulio shouts, pointing over his shoulder.

"The gods should not be playing ball like this!" the priest continues.

"Well, exactly!" Tulio huffs, folding his arms.

"Everyone follow me!" Tzekel-Kan exclaims. We all exchange looks, but follow him anyway. He leads us to a large arena like area, carrying the ball in his hands, all the while. Tulio and I find ourselves out on the playing field, as the towns people begin crowding into the spectators area. "THIS is how the gods should play ball!" the priest proclaims.

Tulio glares at me. "Well, don't blame me," I whisper.

"I blame you!" Tulio scowls accusingly, pointing a finger at me. "What is the object of this game, pray tell?"

"You've gotta knock the ball throug the hoop," Chel says, sheepishly. Interesting, I didn't realize she could pull off that emotion, she always seems so self confident.

"What hoop?" Tulio turns to her.

"THAT hoop," she points to a hoop mounted on the wall, just above our heads.

"That's impossible! We're gonna' loose," Tulio groans.

Chel shakes her head. "Gods don't loose!"

Tzekel-Kan snapss his fingers. Suddenly a group of rather large, intimidating looking natives meets us out on the field, all wearing gold with red earrings. It's at this point, I also notice Tzekel's are gold with yellow. It makes me wonder even further if I was right in my assumption that earrings are a status symbol around here. "My lords, Chief Tannabok's warriors are the finest ballplayers in the city," he states,  
"Fifteen mere mortals against two gods... I realize it's a bit uneven, but I DO hope they'll challenge you enough to make the game... interesting... Play ball!" He sets the ball in the center of the court, then gets right in my face. "Crush them into the dust! Enjoy," he then takes his seat next to Chief Tanni. The ball bounces and it feels like an earthquake as the team rushes toward us. They send the ball  
flying at us in an amazing speed and Tulio ducks underneath it, laying on the ground, letting it whizz past his head. "My lords, were you not supposed to put the ball into play?"

"Oh, well... No, no, no, no, no. We were merely demonstrating the, um, traditional, uh, first avoidance maneuver," Tulio explains.

"Ah...?" Tzekel-Kan stops, "I've never heard of such a thing?"

"Excuse me, who invented this game?" I ask, scoldingly.

"Why, the gods, of course," Tzekel-Kan grants, nervously.

"Come here, you," Tulio growls, grabbing me by my sleeve and pulling me back. "I'm warning you," he whispers, "Don't push your luck with this guy!"

I still have no idea what's happened between Tulio and the priest, but he seems even more highstrung than usual. "But, Tulio," I say calmly, a slight chuckle in my voice, as I bounce the ball around with a bit of flair, "We're the gods!"

We start the game, once more. I loose track of how long the game's gone on. We occasionally hear Chel shouting from the side-lines. The home team has gained SEVERAL points, and we haven't scored even once. "New ball!" The ball bounces out of bounds and just narrowly misses Chel in the process. As much as it hurts to have this *30 cm, 3.5 kg ball hit us in the hips as fast as it's going, I hate to think what would have happened if it had hit Chel.

"How long does this go on, anyway?" Tulio asks breathlessly, the two of us leaning on one another.

Chel approaches us with a ball in hand. "The game is over when the shadow touches this line," she explains.

"We need a miracle," I grumble.

"No, we need to cheat!" Tulio answers.

Chel smiles at us and holds up the new ball. We both stare at it for a moment as we realize what she's done. It's the armadillo from earlier, the one we saved from the snake back in the jungle. Tulio takes the 'ball' from her, with a smile. "Go get 'em, boys," Chel giggles.

The 'ball' bounces out of Tulio's hand, runs circles around the other team as they try to kick it, dances around me, then propels up the wall and through the hoop. "Yes!" we both exclaim. The crowd cheers. "If anyone asks, we were waiting for the right time, to make a dramatic come back and give them a fighting chance, right?" Tulio suggests.

"RIGHT!" I agree.

The armadillo works beautifully for us, more than making up his 'life debt'. The other team becomes unable to score, as the armadillo repels itself from the hoop whenever they nearly make the goal, yet using it's feet to push itself through if we seem as though we're going to fall short. Soon, Altivo has jumped in to give us a hand. Tulio and I almost look as though we're dancing with the 'ball' at this point. The home team stops and stairs in disbelief as the armadillo rolls through the hoop, nearly drops, only to roll up and back through the other way, before bouncing back and forth through the hoop several times. Such is the "power of the gods". Before long, we're tied with the locals. Chel begins cheering and dancing at the sidelines. Tulio and I bump into each other, back-to-back, cheering each other on, we bounce the 'ball' back and fourth, with a small celebrational dance. The armadillo bounces out of bounds, back to Chel.

Chel throws the ball back to us and we rush up, riding on Altivo's back. Bouncing it around in the air with our arms and heads and rolling it over our shoulders. We look up, toward Chel, who we just faintly hear calling out to us. She's got the armadillo, meaning this ball that just bounced off Tulio's head is the real thing. Now we're in for it. Altivo jumps in the air. Tulio's elbow strikes the side of  
my head as he bounces the ball into play. This is a play of desperation, we can't afford to miss it. I stand up right and hit the ball toward the goal. I then do my best to kick it. The ball lands inside the hoop, just as we land on the ground. Tulio and I jump off Altivo and look up. The ball stalls, neither rolling one way or the other. Everyone is on the edge of their seats waiting with baited breath to see what'll happen. I hear Altivo's back hoof strike the wall and the ball rolls forward, scoring us the point, before landing on the ground.

"Yes!" we both exclaim, bumping chests with each other.

"I love this game!" Tzekel-Kan can be heard exclaiming as the onlookers break into an uproarious cheer.

Chel runs out to us and throws her arms around Tulio, who picks her up in his arms and spins her in the air. Well, I guess there's no need for me to try playing matchmaker when we leave. They seem to be getting along quite well. "Well done, partner."

"You did it!" Chel laughs, squeezing Tulio's cheeks. She looks like she's about to lean in and kiss him.

"My lords, congratulations on your victory. And now, you will, of course, wish to have the loosing team sacrificed to your glory." The home team bows in reverance.

I roll my eyes. "Not again." I'm loosing my patience with this man. "Look, Tzekel-Kan!" I point at him, irritably.

"Uh, Miguel?" Tulio whispers.

I ignore him. "Forget the sacrifices."

"Miguel!" Tulio urges again.

"We don't want any sacrifices," I insist.

The priest looks confused, and his voice isn't too far off from that of a child who's answering a scolding parent, "But? All of the sacred writings say that you will devour the wicked and the unrighteous."  
I put my hands on my hips and shake my head. "Yeah, well, I don't see anyone here who fits that description!" Except maybe you, you blood-thirsty loonatic.

"Well, as speaker for the gods, it would be my privilege to point them out," Tzekel-Kan offers.

You've over used and abused that privilege, I'm afraid. Now I'm really angry. "The gods are speaking for themselves, now!" I push my way past Tzekel-Kan and over to the warriors. Seriously, these are your city's best ball players, and your chief's own warriors, you would throw their lives away in the name of the gods, just because they lost a ball game? Who would defend your city if someone worse than us suddenly came along? Someone like Cortes? I urge the men to rise to their feet and turn back to the priest. My face red, and my blood boiling. "This city and these people... have no need for you anymore! There WILL be no sacrifices! Not now, not ever! Get out!"

He stares at me in complete shock for a moment as the people cheer and Chief Tanni waves 'bye-bye' to him. I feel something on my forehead, but assume it must be an insect or something and try to ignore it. Tzekel-Kan bows. "As the... gods... command," he says, turning to leave.

The men lift me and Tulio onto their shoulders, tossing us in the air victoriously. I playfully elbow my partner. "Not bad for my first commandment, huh?" I laugh.

"Miguel, the little voice...?" Tulio starts. He rolls his eyes and waves me off, "Yeah, fine."

They carry us back to the temple and announce Cheif Tannabok will be preparing another feast for us, soon. Tulio stops and stares at me for a moment, and once we're alone, he grabs me by the shoulders. "Geez, Miguel, you're bleeding!" he says.

"I'm what?"

"Right here, above your right eyebrow," Tulio says. "When did that happen?"

I shake my head. "I dunno." Maybe when Tulio's elbow hit me?

"Chel, get me something I can clean this up with, please, before someone walks in and notices," Tulio urges.

I roll my eyes. Of course, he's more worried that this will give us away, than the fact that I'm actually injured. I should have known. Chel disappears for a moment, before returning with a rag and a bottle of Pulque. Pouring the alchohol onto the rag, she pushes between me and Tulio and begins dabbing my forehead. "Ah, that sort of stings," I complain.

"Shh... It'll prevent an infection," Chel explains. Tulio walks away, letting Chel do whatever she needs to.

"Thank you, by the way," I say.

"For what?" she asks.

"For this, for one," I chuckle, "For convincing me to slip out, for another. I had more fun than I'd hoped."

She smiles, "You're welcome, Miguel."

"And more importantly, thank you for helping us at the game today. That was quick thinking, and it really saved us," I finish.

She blushes an adorable shade of red. "Well... I..." She giggles. "My only wish is to serve the gods," she says with a wink. "There, good as new." The blood's stopped, and the wound is small enough that it's not visably noticable unless you know to look for it.

The next few days go by rather uneventfully, and no one hears from Tzekel-Kan. The work on the ship seems to be going smoothly. I take time to pose for sculptors who want to chizzel my game-winning move into the wall. Tulio and Chel seem to be getting closer. He's begun taking her out at nights, as though he were courting her. It's cute really. I'm happy for him. However, I need Chel to promise me something.

Tulio brings her back to the temple and she has a flower in her hand. He goes straight to bed, while she stands playing with the flower, gently running her fingers along it's petals, as though she were petting it. "You two have fun?" I ask.

"Oh, yes, we had a wonderful time," she answers, bulshing.

"Good, great," I say with a smile. "Look, Chel, I need to talk to you for a moment, in private, all right?" I motion for her to follow me back outside.

"Oh? Okay?" she says quietly, following me outside.

"Chel, do you love Tulio?" I ask.

"I beg your pardon?" she asks, looking confused.

"No, I mean it," I say. "I'm glad you two are having fun together. But, you see... Back home in Spain, there's this place called Barcelona. Tulio had found a girl there, once, that he was simply crazy about. She practically had him wrapped around her finger but, he never introduced me to her. At the same time, there was a girl I was woeing in town. I wasn't nearly as serious about this girl as Tulio was about his, but I really did like her. One night, Tulio came to me, proclaiming that he was wanting to find a ring," I explain.

"A ring?" Chel asks.

"Yes, he wanted to marry her," I answer. "He disappeared for a couple of days after that. When I found him, he was sloshed drunk and miserable. He'd nearly drank the tavern out of business and I had to wrestle the bottle out of his hand. That's when he told me, she had left him for another man. Some musician she had met."

"You?" Chel asked.

I stop and look at her for a moment, then nod. "Yeah, me," I admit. "I didn't realize it, though. I drug Tulio to a hotel room and kept him locked there until he sobered up. After a week of obscenities and other objects flying at me, he finally managed to calm down and I let him out. I then went to the girl I had been courting, to appologize for having been gone so long. I'd intended to explain to her that I  
had been helping a close friend with a family crisis. Instead, she admitted to me that she'd had a second suitor trying for her affections the whole time, but when, as she put it, 'the black-haired fool, who obviously had nothing of worth to offer, but to play man servant', had asked her to marry him, she broke it off with him and told him she was seeing someone else. Someone who had the chance to make something of himself with their gift of music. I realized immediatly that she was the girl who'd broken Tulio's heart and broke it off with her. Rather than giving her the original story of helping out a friend, I told her that it wasn't going to work out. I was a traveling minstrel, and she wouldn't be happy moving from place to place. She should find herself someone local, who would keep her in a stable position, then I bid her adou, and returned to my partner, offering him a 'job' we could pull a few towns over, to get him away from it all."

"That's sweet of you Miguel, but why are you telling me this?" I ask.

"Because, if you're going to come with us, before I can give you my blessings, I have to know," I say, "Chel, Tulio and I have been inseperable since we were old enough to walk. We literally lived right across the street from each other, until we lost our parents." I take her hands in mine. "You're a sweet girl, but I don't really know you. I want you to promise me, that if you love him, we won't wake up one morning, to find you've run off with half the gold and played us for suckers." The look on her face shows shocked offense, but before she can say anything, I continue, "I'm not saying you would. But I'm smart enough to know the kind of conwomen back home that act as self confident as you aren't incapable of pulling such a stunt. I don't care as much about the gold, when there's so much to go around, but I need you to promise me, you won't break his heart?"

She softens and smiles. "You're really sweet, Miguel," she says, squeezing my hands. "I don't blame you for thinking that, as you said, you don't know me very well, yet, and I'm VERY capable of pulling such a stunt. But, I DO love Tulio," she assures me, her voice full of honesty, "and I've come to look on you as a brother." She smiles and pats my cheek. "Don't worry, I promise, I have no intention of hurting either of you."

I smile at her and give her a gentle hug. "Thank you, Chel."

She smiles and gives me a very chaste peck on the cheek. "Come, now, Miguel, I think Tulio worries enough for the five of us," she giggles, looking toward Altivo and the armadillo, who've snuggled up together and already gone to sleep. "Now, you've got to go inspect that boat tomorrow morning, I think it's time we all follow their example and head to bed, don't you?"

"Yes, I suppose you're right," I agree, "Good night, Chel."

"Good night, Miguel."


	6. Tulio - Breaking the Rules

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things get a little heated, but this is, and will be, the most mature chapter in the whole story. I THINK I kept it tame enough to keep the "T" Rating?

I drag Miguel by the shirt sleeve to Chief Tannabok's palace. My partner's always had an uncontrolable sense of wonderlust when encountering something or somewhere new. If I left him to his own devices, we'd never make it to our destination before the end of the day. A gaurd greets us at the palace gates. "My Lords!" he bows. 

I reluctantly release Miguel's shirt and throw him a look that dares him to so much as move a muscle, before turning to the gaurd. "Is Chief Tannabok in? We need to speak with him," I insist, "Tell him it's a matter of utmost importance."

"Yes, my lords, right away!" the gaurd says, with a bow, "I'll take you to him immediately. This way, please." We follow the gaurd into the palace, and he leads us straight to the cheif.

"My lords?" the chief bows to us, as do the woman and children at his side. His wife and kids, I'm asuming. "To what honor do we owe this visit? Is there something you've found to your disatisfaction?"

"No," Miguel and I both say.

"No, no, no, not at all," I chuckle, assuringly, "Everything's fine. It's just, Chief Tanni... Do you mind if I call you Tanni?" He shakes his head. Thank goodness, Tanni's a lot easier to remember, actually. "Good. Um... Is there somewhere we can sit and talk? We have a favor we need to ask of you."

The cheif glances at his wife and kids, as if to excuse himself from them, then turns back to us. "Certainly, right this way," he says, leading us to the throne room. As he sits on the throne, Miguel and I take our place on a stone couch, covered in brighly colored pillows across from him. "Now, what can I do for you, my lords?"

"You see, Chief Tanni. I know this is rather sudden, but Miguel and I need to return to Xibalba, and well, your tribute is so plentiful, we need a vessel to carry it in. We were hoping perhaps, you could build us a baot?"

"A boat?" the chief asks.

"Yeah, we really hate to be ascending so soon, but, some urgent business has come up," Miguel starts to explain, pointing skyward.

"Family matters," I add, "and it's just a bit..."

"Yeah, family," Miguel nods.

"Badda-bing, budda-boom, you just have to be there, know what I mean?" I chuckle, nervously.

"Oh... Well, we expected you to be staying with us for the next... thousand years," the chief says.

"Yeah, I know," I nod, calmly, "But as we say in the spirit world, there's your plan, and then there's... the gods' plan. And right now, our plan calls for a boat. 'Cause, we're gonna' ascend kind of in a horizontal pattern at first." I notice Miguel cover his mouth, as if trying to hide a laugh and it takes every ounce of control not to kick him before he does or says something stupid that might give us away. "And then we're gonna' go vertical, as we get further out to sea."

"Hm, to build a boat large and glorious enough... Would take about a week," the chief proposes.

"A week?" I ask.

"I wonder how long it would take Tzekel-Kan to do it?" Miguel pipes in. I toss him a smile, he was paying attention when I told him to play the two against each other, after all.

"But-But for the gods," the cheif stammers. Hey, well played, buddy! "Three days."

"Well, if that's the best you can do..." We start to stand up.

"Or, perhaps, if you were not burdened with so much tribute, you could leave sooner?" the chief suggests.

Miguel and I exchange a glance. "I like it here, Miguel?" I ask.

"Yep, yep," Miguel agrees, "Three days is just fine."

No, no it's not, but it's the best we can deal with. I've already got a feeling of dread and failure growing deep in the pit of my stomach. I manage to hold it together, long enough to settle all the arrangements with Chief Tanni. Work on the boat begins tomorrow, Miguel and I will stop by and check on the progress periodically. The ship will be large enough to carry Miguel, Al Tivo, Chel, the armadillo, and myself, along with the gold and enough provisions to get us safely to Spain. No one asks about the armadillo, I suppose since it came into the city with us, they assumed it belonged to us, just like the horse. Chel, on the other hand, this made the Chief raise a questioning eye. "She's served us so well here, that we wish to reward her by taking her with us," I explain. The  
cheif shrugs his shoulders, I guess he bought it.

As we leave, I catch Miguel by his shirt sleeve again. "Awe, c'mon, Tulio," he groans as I lead him back to the temple. He complains, but complies and follows me back without a fight. I think he can tell I'm uneasy.

"No, three days is NOT fine," I announce, once we get back to the safety of the temple. I scoop up a pair of earrings and start pacing. "This is a real..." I notice Chel is digging through the golden jewelery, looking at earrings and tossing them aside, trying to find a pair that suits her. I glance down at the pair in my hand, the pair she's wearing are solid green stones, the pair in my hand are the same green stones, but with a golden outline. I lean in and open my hand, showing her the pair I'm holding. "These-these are the ones," I suggest. She takes them and runs off. "Problem," I finish my original thought. "Miguel, how are we going to keep this up for three days?" I ask, almost desperatley.

"You worry too much," Miguel shrugs.

Damn it, Miguel, can't you be serious about anything? "NO! I worry exactly the right amount! You can NEVER worry too much." I sigh. "We just have to lie low."

"But, Tulio, this place is amazing!" Miguel argues, "I mean I wonder what..."

"NO! Don't even move!" I stop him.

"Tulio..." he starts in.

"You're moving!"

"A little, but... Come on..."

"Hey, hey, hey! I said no!" I insist.

"I gotta' I..."

"Stay!" I order, "Just... stand there!"

"Wha... For three days?" he asks, trying to freeze into an awkward position that causes him to fall flat on the floor.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath. "Yes, exactly," I sigh, "For three days." I'm sorry partner. I know. Believe me, Miguel, I know. It's hard enough for you to hold still for three seconds, let along three days, but I need you to do this. "Don't even breathe, all right?"

Miguel gives me a defeated sigh and crosses his arms. "All right, we lie low," he agrees.

"No, ah, ah, ah, ah!" I'm not letting him off that easy. "Promise?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah," he waves me off, "All right, all right!"

I heave a sigh and relax a little, feeling a weight lift off my shoulders. "Great! Good. Okay." Chel steps back up beside me, wearing the earrings I'd just given her. They look good on her. "Now, if you'll excuse me..." I smile at Chel and flick one of the earrings, making her giggle, and... Awe, cute, is that a blush? "I have to go and gloat over my gold." I sit down and start looking through the gold. There's  
all sorts of trinkets and odds and ends. Plates, jewelery, coins, vases, statues. "Oh, yum, yum, yum..." The miser in me doesn't care who sees as I pick up a golden head statue and begin kissing it. I start to relax even more and begin to feel a lot better. I round some of it up, planning to take it back over to my partners, so we can dig through it together, and suddenly find myself singing, "Tulio goes for paradise..."  
Chel's sitting on the couch, but... "Hey, what happened to Miguel?"

Chel shrugs. "I dunno'."

I drop the crate full of gold. "Oh my God! He's gone! Miguel's gone! He's loose. What am I gonna' do? Oh, no, no!" All it takes is one little slip up... ONE little mistake, is all it takes, and we're busted. He's smarter than I give him credit for, I know that, but he doesn't always think things through. Like I said, that little voice that tells people when to stop, he DOESN'T have one! He could get himself hurt  
if he's not looking where he's going, he could say or do something that tips them off that we're not who they think we are.

Chel giggles and slides up behind me, placing her hands on my shoulders, she guides me to the couch. "Miguel is right," she says, as she begins massaging my shoulders, "You worry too much."

"Oh. Ooh..." I sigh. Wow, her hands are really small, but she's working miracles here. That feels amazing. "Oh, yeah. Oh, oh, down, down, down..." I start.

"Tat... Tat... Tat..." she giggles.

My mind suddenly snaps back to the bigger picture and I leap to my feet. What the hell am I doing? "No!" Damn, Miguel and I agreed she was off limits, too. "No! Big trouble! Whoa!"

"What?" Chel asks, looking confused.

"Look, sweetheart, we're in the middle of a con, here," I start to explain, "Walking the razor's edge." I point to a pile of gold. "On the one hand, GOLD!" I turn to an image on the wall of a warrior stabbing another in the chest. ...Why is that even here, anyway? "Painful... Agonizing... Failure!" DEATH! Why is it so hard for everyone else around here to grasp that? I don't know about Chief Tanni, but I  
wouldn't put it past Tzekel-Kan for all the gold in the world! "I can't afford any tempta-uh..." Chel slowly sits down on the couch, it's almost as if she's still trying to seduce me, "distractions. So, I'm sorry..." She sweeps her hair to the side, revealing her exposed shoulders. "Sooo... sorry..." I try to pull myself together. This agreement's becoming harder and harder to uphold. "But, perhaps another time? Another place, hmm?" I offer, hopefully. She's off limits until we're out of here, right? We didn't agree on what happens AFTER the three of us leave.

"Too bad," she giggles, looking back over her shoulders and swaying in the most seductive way ever, "I'm free now."

"I'm..." God, I'm weak. "Not really sure I trust you."

"Mm, I'm not really asking you to trust me... Am I?" she says, playing with her hair.

"Whoo..." I swallow. Damn it, I'm weak. "'Kay!" I put my hands on her shoulders and begin massaging them.

"Ooh, yeah!" she sighs, leaning back into my hands. Wow, I'd never paid attention to how tiny her frame was before, but my hands look huge against her shoulders.

We start off slow. I massage her back, she gets up and returns the favor. Suddenly, I'm against the wall, with her lips to mine, her fingers tangling into my hair. Her kisses taste like Xocotal and she smells like some of the native flowers. One thing leads to another, as I wrap an arm around her and deepen the kiss, our hands find their way under one another's clothes, as we each explore the other. Indulgence gives way into passion, and before I know it, we're on the floor, my belt undone, and Chel straddling my lower region. Neither of us bother with removing our clothes, but the next several minutes are pure exctasy. "Uh, Chel, are you sure..." I start to protest. Not that I don't want to. Believe me, I WANT to, but what if...

Chel giggles and pushes her lips to mine. "Relax, Tulio," she coos seductively, playfully scritching a fingertip along my chest in a spot where my shirt had become unbuttoned, "My only wish is to serve the gods, remember?" She winks at me, before she begins to move her hips.

I'm lost at this point. There's no arguing with her, no fighting back, no turning back. I grab her waist and begin to move with her, and all is lost. All time, all thoughts, all worries, all gone. Right now, there's nothing in the world but myself and Chel, and I'm fine with that.

"Oh... Whoa!" I groan in pleasure.

"My lord?" Tzekel-Kan's voice rings out. "Hello?"

"The high priest!" Chel hisses in a sudden panicked whisper.

"Ow!" my head connects with the floor, and we both begin to come down from our high. She does so much quicker than I.

She quickly scrambles off of me. "What's he gonna' think if he finds one of the gods like this with me?" she worries.

"Uh, lucky god?" I say.

"Oh, j-just-just-just..." She grabs me by my colar and slaps my face a few times, knocking me back to my senses. Coming back to myself, I give her a look that says, 'You should have thought about this earlier.' In reply, she tosses me across the room. She may be tiny, but damn, she's strong. "Just get out there!" she hisses.

"Hello?" Tzekel-Kan calls again.

"Whoa!" I quickly duck behind a pillar, making sure my hair, clothes, and especially my belt are in order, before turning to great him, "Oh! Tzekel-Kan! What brings you here?"

"I-I-I-I-I humbly request an audience with you, my lord," the priest stammers.

I raise an eyebrow. "Yes, what can I do for you?"

"My lord, I have just seen Lord Miguel out among the people," Tzekel-Kan says, sounding rather dismayed.

I clench my fist and my eyebrow raises even higher. "REALLY?" I ask, irritably. What has that idiot gone and done?

"My lord, if I may be so bold as to offer some advice?" the high priests requests. Chel, having made herself presentable, comes up behind the priest and shakes her head.

"All right," I say cautiously, "Shoot."

"My lord, you are perfect," Tzekel-Kan starts.

"Oh, well," I start out sounding moddest, but then, who am I kidding, I LOVE having my ego stroked, "Go on?"

"But in your perfection, you cannot know how imperfect humans are." He slips around to the other side of me, and now I'm standing closer to Chel as I turn to face him. He begins using his same smoke and mirrors from his earlier attempted sacrifice. Puffs of colored smoke fill the room and take the shapes of snakes. "Like snakes, they are. Spineless and slippery." With a wave of his hands, they change from snakes to rats, "They are as untrustworthy as rats, stealing and cheating with no remorse." He holds one of the 'rats' in his hand, by the tail and it turns into a piece of fruit, which he bites into. Chel and I have both drawn back from him. I've got to admit, this is some pretty creepy stuff, how does he do it? Chel grabs my arms from behind and digs her fingers into them. I can feel her trembeling. Another wave of the priest's hands, and now the room is crawling with spiders. I think I'm gonna' be sick. "Spinning webs of lies, like spiders!" he continues, crushing a 'spider' in his hands.

"Tulio..." I hear Chel squeak.

"Stop it!" I exclaim, "That's disgusting!"

"They're beyond disgusting!" Tzekel-Kan returns, nearly pushing his face to mine.

Chel and I take another step back. "Yeah, yeah, way beyond," I say, half bewildered, half horrified.

"Then we're in agreement," Tzekel-Kan says, happily, "I'll begin the necessary preparations imediately! Do you wish to have your victims bound to an altar, or would you prefer them free range?" Wait, what? "And will you be devouring their essence whole... Or piece by piece?"

"Tzekel, you've lost me," I state firmly.

"My lord, these people will not respect you if they do not fear you," Tzekel-Kan says, almost in the same tone of voice I get from Miguel with his, ' _C'mon, Tulio!_ ' spiel.

"And, of course, we'll make them fear us by-" I start.

"A sacrifice, as it is prohesied," Tzekel-Kan says, way too eagerly. I feel Chel give me a little tug, quietly urging me to leave. "The history of the Age of the Jaguar will be written in..."

"Ink?" I hope?

"Blood!" Tzekel-Kan says.

"Blood! Oh, right," I nod with a nervous chuckle, "Of course. I should proably..." I clear my throat and signal Chel with a hand behind my back for her to start her way down the steps. And here I'd thought Cortez was a blood thirsty loonatic. He's got NOTHING on this guy. "I should probably consult with Lord Miguel. This is fairly important stuff. I, um, should discuss the entire, uh, blood issue... Right away... Excuse us, won't you?" I turn, grab Chel's wrist and lead her down the stairs, "C'mon, let's go!" I say hurridly.

I don't know what Miguel's been doing all this time, but when we finally find him, he's out playing ball with some kids, and the chief. He nearly runs right into me. "Oh... T-Tulio..." he says, sheepishly. The ball hits me in the head and bounces away, but I'm too annoyed to acknowledge it.

"What...are...you...DOING!?" I growl.

Miguel gives me one of his playful smiles and shrugs his shoulders. "Laying low," he chuckles.

I growl and reach out, ready to choke him. "Tulio," Chel hisses my name through her teeth, calling me back down to Earth before I snap.

"Look, change of plans," I pat Miguel's shoulders. I think he actually believed I might have tried to strangle him this time. I'm not as angry as I came across. I was worried sick when he first ran out, more that he might hurt himself than anything, but I'd never admit to it. If there's anything to be angry about it's that Tzekel-Kan interrupted something good between Chel and me. But we're running out of  
time. We can't stay longer, and I've got to be the rational person that holds this team together. "We have to grab what we can carry and get out of here, NOW!" I whisper.

"What? Why?" Miguel asks.

"Because the high priest is NUTS!" I reply in an exasperated whisper, "He wants..."

"This is unacceptable!" the priest proclaims, picking up the ball.

Great... Time to play along. "Yeah. Yeah, like he said," I shout, pointing over my shoulder at Tzekel-Kan.

"The gods should not be playing ball like this!" the priest continues.

"Well, exactly!" I exclaim, crossing my arms, and glaring at Miguel.

"Everyone follow me!" the priest calls.

We exchange glances, but everyone follows him anyway. I think most everyone is afraid NOT to follow him, to tell you the truth. He leads us to an arena of some sort. The natives fill the seating areas above us, the chief and priest have their own spot at one end of the field. Looking around from one side of the arena, to the other, my eyes fall on my partner again. I glare at him. He jerks, seeing the look on my face. It's actually, always kind of cute when he realizes I'm mad at him. He's been getting on my nerves more often than usual, ever since this 'adventure' of his started, however, and it's wearing thin.

"THIS is how the gods should play ball!" Tzekel-Kan announces.

"Well, don't blame me," Miguel says.

"Oh, I blame you!" I say, wagging a finger at him. If you had just stayed put like I told you, we wouldn't even be standing here, right now. To be fair, we've both broken the rules now. He promised not to wander off, but did, and Chel... Well, so much for 'Off Limits'. But, still,what I did didn't have us out in the public eye. "What is the object of this game, pray tell?"

"You gotta' knock the ball through the hoop," Chel says.

"What hoop?"

"THAT hoop!" she points to a hoop mounted on the wall above our heads.

"That's impossible," I groan, "We're gonna' loose!"

"Gods don't loose!" Chel replies.

We're suddenly facing a group of large, intimidating natives. "My lords, Chief Tannabok's warriors are the finest ballplayers in the city," the priest informs us, "Fifteen mere mortals against two gods... I realize it's a bit uneven, but I DO hope they'll challenge you enough to make the game... interesting... Play ball!" He sets the ball down, then pushes himself right in Miguel's face. "Crush them into the dust!" He chuckles, "Enjoy"

The ground begins to shake, and the ball begins to bounce as Chief Tanni's warriors come rushing at us. One kicks the ball and it flies toward me. Miguel jumps to the side and I hit the ground, covering my head with my hands. I can hear the air whistle as the ball whizzes past me, and my life flashes before my eyes. "My lords, were you not supposed to put the ball into play?" the priest asks.

Crap! Think of something, quick, Tulio! I push myself back to my feet, holding a hand in the air and laugh. "Oh, well... No, no, no! We... We were merely demonstrating the um... the traditional first avoidance maneuver," I explain.

The priest pauses for a moment. Unlike the 'stars' excuse, I don't think he's going to buy this one. "I've never heard of such a thing?"

Crap... "Excuse me?" Miguel jumps in, taking me by surprise. "Who invented this game?"

"Why, the gods, of course," Tzekel-Kan relents.

"Come here, you," I grow, pulling Miguel back. He saved our bacon, just now, but damn, he's pushing it. "I'm warning you, don't push your luck with this guy!" I whisper.

He can tell I'm about to break. He smiles and uses his playful nature to TRY and calm me down as he bounces the ball about. "But, Tulio, we're the gods!" he laughs.

The game begins again. Every now and then, Chel calls out pointers from the side lines. She picks up the armadillo and bounces it on her hips, "Tulio, the hip, the hip!" she says.

The ball comes at me and I try to use my hips to return it. This ball is 30 cm big and weighs 3.5 kg, going at who knows what speed. I actually think I feel a hipbone crack as the ball hits me and bounces back. If nothing else, that'll leave a bruise in the morning for sure. We suck at this game. The few times we came close to getting the ball through the hoop, we fell short. The native team has earned several points already. "Foul, that was a foul!" Chel exclaims at one point. Eventually, Miguel and I become so tired, trying to keep up, that we lean on one another for support. It's over, we're done for. If they haven't figured us out by now, they're all more naive than I thought. The ball goes out of bounds and just barely misses Chel. Considering what it feels when we try to return it, I'm glad it missed her.

"New ball!"

Chel brings us a ball. I try to catch my breath as I ask, "How long does this go on, anyway?"

"The game is over when the shadow touches this line," Chel says, pointing to the other end of the court.

"We need a miracle," Miguel whimpers.

"No, we need to cheat!" I insist.

Chel smiles as she offers us the 'ball'. It's the armadillo. It's just the right size and color to pass as the real thing when curled up like it is. I smile at her. Honey, you're a genius! Oh, we're breaking ALL kinda rules, now. "Go get 'em, boys," she giggles.

The armadillo squinches up like it's a ball and bounces out of my hand. It dodges every time the opposing team tries to kick it, and practically dances around Miguel, before making it's way up the wall and through the hoop. "YES!" Miguel and I both exclaim as the crowds begin to cheer. Now, THIS his how the gods play ball! "If anyone asks, we were waiting for the right time to make a dramatic come back and give them a fighting chance, right?" I whisper.

"RIGHT!" Miguel agrees.

For the next several turns, the other team is unable to score at all. The armadillo pushes itself away from the hoop when they kick it, but pushes itself through for us. suddenly, the game's become effortless, and a lot more fun. Miguel and I toss the 'ball' about for a moment in congratulatory ritual.  
"Who's the god?"  
"You de god."  
"No, you the god. Fine."  
"No, you de god."

Our team has grown in number, as even Altivo has decided to join us out on the field. We bounce the 'ball' up to the hoop and it begins bouncing back and forth through it, several times, until we become tied with our opponents. Chel begins to cheer and dance. The way she shakes her hips seems to temporarily distract EVERYONE on the field, not just me. Even Tzekel-Kan seems to be distracted by her for a moment, which is rather disturbing. If this had been a real ball, I probably would have bounced it out of bounds and hit him in the head with it. As high priest, he shouldn't be thinking such things, after all. Pulling ourselves away from the distraction, we continue the game.

The 'ball' eventually bounces out of bounds and Chel throws it back in. Miguel and I scoop the ball up, while riding Altivo. We put some flair into it, rolling the ball along our shoulders and bouncing it back and forth. "Guys, guys," we hear Chel calling out in a whisper. We look up to see her holding the armadillo. "It's right here with me," she says through gritted teeth. That means we've got a REAL ball,  
now. I feel the weight of the ball as it bounces off my head. We're done for! The horse jumps in the air and I use my arm to toss the ball into the air. I feel my elbow come up against something solid durring this move, did I just hit Miguel in the head? Miguel stands up and hits the ball toward the goal and attempts to kick it. Altivo hits the ground and Miguel and I quickly dismount. The ball goes in the hoop and stops. It doesn't roll out, it doesn't roll through. It's stuck. A hush falls over the arena. People are litterally on the edge of their seats. Altivo stomps a hoof or something and the ball rolls through, scoring us the point. Did... Did the horse just kick the wall and win us the game? The ref blows the conch shell, signaling the end of the game. We won.

"YES!" Miguel and I exclaim, congratulating one another. The crowd roars in excitement.

"You did it!" Chel laughs, as she runs out to us. I pick her up and spin her around. She leans in, like she's about to kiss me, when suddenly...

"My lords!" Tzekel-Kan crashes our victory party, "Congratulations on your victory. And now, you will, of course, wish to have the loosing team sacrificed to your glory?" The members of the team in question fall to their knees.

"Not again," Miguel scoffs. "Look, Tzekel-Kan!" he exclaims.

"Uh, Miguel?" I whisper. I don't think I've ever seen him this mad before.

"Forget the sacrifices!" Miguel says.

"Miguel, what are you doing?" I whisper. He's out right ignoring me.

"We don't want any sacrifices," he continues.

"But, all of the sacred writings say you will devour the wicked and unrightous!" Tzekel-Kan stammers.

"Yeah, well, I don't see anyone here who fits that description," Miguel says.

" _I do,_ " I think, looking directly at the priest.

"Well, as speaker of the gods, I'll gladly point them out," Tzekel-Kan, says.

"The gods are speaking for themselves, now!" Miguel says, pushing past the priest and approaching the bowing natives. Wow, what's gotten into him all of a sudden? I don't want this any more than he does, but I've never seen him like this before. He pushes the men to their feet and turns back to Tzekel-Kan. "This city and these people no longer have need of your services. There will be no more sacrifices. Not now, not ever! Get out!" he orders.

The priest stands in a moment of stunned silence, before bowing and leaving. Miguel and I are hoisted into the air, held as heroes all of a sudden. "Not bad for my first commandment, huh?" he asks, nudging me with his elbow.

"Miguel, the little voice...?" I start to remind him, but I stop and smile, waving him off, "Yeah, fine." What can I say, I'm impressed. It's a side of him I'd never seen before, a side I didn't know he had... A side I don't think I ever want to be on the wrong end of. I hope he didn't develop it from too many years of hanging around me.

We're taken back to the temple and informed that Chief Tanni is planning another feast in honor of our victory, and in favor of Miguel's new proclomation. "Miguel, you were amazing out there," Chel giggles.

"Yeah, partner you were really... something..." I start to compliment him, but fall silent as I notice his eyebrow. I keep my mouth shut, until everyone is gone, not wanting to draw attention. "Geeze, Miguel, you're bleeding!" I say, catching him by the shoulders, once we're alone.

"I'm what?" he asks.

"Right here, above your right eyebrow," I point out, "When did that happen?" Doesn't it hurt? Did I do that when my elbow hit you? Damn, I'm sorry, amigo. I look him in the eyes. They're not dialated. He doesn't appear to be showing any signs of a concussion. Thank God!

Miguel shakes his head and says he doesn't know when it happened. Does he really not know or is he trying not to pass the blame? "Chel, can you get me something I can clean this up with, please, before someone notices?" I ask. It's a minor cut, and he's not showing any signs of trauma. Thank goodness, it's nothing fatal. Curse my pride, I can't bring myself to tell him I'm glad it's nothing serious.

"Here, Tulio, let me take care of it," Chel says, pushing between us with a cloth saoked in Pulque.

Miguel hisses and pulls back for a second. "That stings," he complains.

"Shh!" she says, dabbing at the wound, "It'll prevent infection." I walk away and let her do whatever needs to be done. I think I've had more scares than my heart can take for today.

Chel comes out a few moments later. "He'll be fine," she says, sliding up next to me. "It's not even noticable if you don't know to look for it," she assures me.

I smile. "Yeah, thanks for taking care of it."

The next few days go by rather uneventful. The boat is well underway. Miguel is, well, being Miguel. I'm no longer worried about laying low. Miguel has banished the biggest threat to our secret from the public eye, for now. What the hell? May as well enjoy the city, while we're here, it's not like the gaurds are looking to lock us up or flog us like back home, after all. I ask Chel out for a late night stroll. I'm  
falling for her. We go out and I let her show me the city. Curious townspeople get told that she's acting as my guide. Curious food venders get told I'm treating her as a reward for her steadfast, loyal service. Either way, it placates their curiosity, and I still manage to make it a romantic evening. She begins asking me questions about Spain. I explain it to her the best I can, but of course, just as simple  
stories never did El Dorado any justice, neither do mine flatter Spain like they should. She would simply have to see it in person to get a real grasp of it. I tell her our difference in archetecture and furniture, we use more wood than stone, and about our cuisine. I tell her about our art and music, and even show her one of our dances, with a flower clenched in my mouth. She giggles and claps as I finish the dance and blushes as I hand her the flower. As she takeks it from me, the petals all fly away, revealing themselves to be small purple birds. She laughs but holds on to the stem. On the way back to the temple, I get her a real flower.

I'm exhausted when we reach the temple. I pat the top of her head and give her a quick peck on the cheek, hoping Miguel doesn't see. Maybe he already knows about Chel and me, but I haven't told him, yet. It'd be awkward having to explain, now. "Good night, beautiful," I say, heading straight for bed.

"Good night, Tulio," Chel replies.


End file.
